This is a story about alchemy. The main character’s mother tried to create the Philosopher’s Stone but doing so drove her mad. (Mania is a side effect of creating the stone.) In her madness she destroys the stone. Thea (her daughter) is then sent to London to live with her dad (who didn’t know she existed). 

Thea wants to create the stone herself so she can cure her mother. She learned all she knows about alchemy from her mother, who is a well-known alchemist. It takes place during WWI so the treatment of women leaves a lot to be desired. Despite Thea’s mother being an accomplished scholar and alchemist, her breakthroughs are downplayed as alchemy is seen as a man’s subject. Thea spends most of the story battling gender norms and working on the stone in secret. There are some romance aspects, but they really don’t matter much as this is a journey of a young girl trying to prove herself and save her mother. Her father is generally helpful and understanding, but usually remains in the background unless needed. There are some twist moments that you can probably see coming, but the plot does not suffer from these.

The pacing is really well done, as the sense of urgency brought on by Thea’s mother’s sickness is felt right from the beginning. Not to mention the countless other people that heard about the stone’s creation. Thea doesn’t go around advertising she is the daughter of the alchemist who created a stone, but some people find out anyway and they want her to make them one. There are some darker subjects tackled here as she is abused and other such scenarios. The despicableness of the world and its inhabitants is not too surprising given the state of the world at the time, but our protagonist has to go through a lot.

It’s a page turner and substantive. There are some underlying themes here, but the one at the forefront is to not underestimate someone because of their gender/ disposition. You don’t know what someone is capable of until you see it. Thea’s journey is a hell of a ride and I couldn’t help cheering her on as I read. (I love a good female empowerment story.)