by Gigi Pandian
author’s note
The Masquerading Magician is a work of fiction, but the historical backdrop is real.
Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin (1805–1871) is the French stage magician known as the “Father of Modern Magic.” The astonishing history of his life in The Masquerading Magician is accurate except for the following: he was not known to be a book collector, he never possessed the fictional alchemy book Non Degenera Alchemia, and he was not given a gargoyle by his contemporary Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814–1879).
Viollet-le-Duc was the architect who created the Gallery of Chimeras on Notre Dame, including the carving Dorian is based on. As far as history recorded, the two famous men did not know each other.
Records suggest that alchemists used to meet at Notre Dame many centuries ago, and there are theories of a backward “death rotation” in alchemical transformations. However, as far as I can tell, there never existed a break-off sect of backward alchemists.
It’s true history that the façade of Notre Dame de Paris was defaced during the French Revolution, and there is indeed evidence that alchemical codes have been carved into Notre Dame in the past. My addition of Non Degenera Alchemia to the façade is fictional. As for the real carvings that once existed, some scholars have attributed them to fourteenth-century alchemist Nicolas Flamel.
Nicolas Flamel and his wife Perenelle claimed to have discovered the Philosopher’s Stone, granting them the power to transmute lead into gold and extend their lives. Is there any truth in this assertion? The Flamels did possess an ancient alchemy book, donated large sums of money to charity, lived exceptionally long lives for the time, and when their graves were unearthed the coffins were empty. The less fanciful interpretation of these facts is that Nicolas Flamel was a bookseller who owned many books, his wife was wealthy and had money to donate, and graves in the fourteenth century were not especially secure. But doesn’t it make for great fiction?
Dorian the gargoyle was inspired by the many mysterious gargoyles I’ve visited over the years. My gargoyle photography can be seen on the Gargoyle Girl blog at www.gargoylegirl.com.
Though Dorian is fictional, his culinary alchemy is based on my own exploits in the kitchen. A cancer diagnosis challenged me to completely transform the way in which I ate, and instead of giving up meals I loved, I challenged myself to learn how to cook healing foods from scratch that would nourish both my body and soul.
In addition to the three vegan recipes in the back of this book, recipes are included in each book in the Accidental Alchemist mystery series, plus more recipes can be found online at www.gigipandian.com/recipes.
Acknowledgments
Huge thanks to my amazing publishing team: At Midnight Ink, my editors Terri Bischoff, Amy Glaser, and Nicole Nugent; publicist Beth Hanson; cover designer Kevin Brown; and cover illustrator Hugh D’Andrade. At the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, my agent Jill Marsal, who pushed me to turn an amorphous idea into the Accidental Alchemist mysteries.
This book also wouldn’t exist without the insights of readers Emberly Nesbit, Nancy Adams, Adrienne Bell, Ramona DeFelice Long, and Susan Parman, or the moral support from my local writers group, the Pens Fatales.
And as always, I count my blessings for James and my parents, who have always believed in me, and who only occasionally grumble about the long hours I spend absorbed in my writing.
© Michael B. Woolsey
About the Author
Gigi Pandian is the USA Today bestselling author of the Accidental Alchemist mystery series and the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt mystery series. A breast cancer diagnosis in her thirties taught her two important life lessons: healing foods can taste amazing, and life’s too short to waste a single moment. Gigi spent her childhood being dragged around the world by her cultural anthropologist parents, and she now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with an overgrown organic vegetable garden in the backyard. Find her online at www.gigipandian.com.
