{"product_id":"9781399803250","title":"Elixir : A Story of Perfume, Science and the Search for the Secret of Life","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Levitt, Theresa \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eFrance\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 1 February 2024 by John Murray Press (Basic Books) in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaperback | 320 pages\u003cbr\u003e197 x 129 x 24 | 232g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Dizzying and fragrant . . . truly a captivating achievement!' Aimee Nezhukumatathil'If you read this book you will be changed . . .  this book feels like an actual elixir' Kiese Laymon'A fascinating tale of discovery, wonder, and revolution' Matthew StanleyTwo friends in a Parisian perfume shop make a discovery that will transform our\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eunderstanding of the world and the origins of life on Earth forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSet amidst the unforgettable sights and smells of 18th and\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e19th Century Paris, Elixir tells the story of\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEdouard Laugier and Auguste Laurent, the son of a perfumer and a fellow\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003easpiring chemist, who met on the Left Bank while pursuing their passion for\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003escience. Spurned by the scientific establishment, the pair ended up working out\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eof Edouard's family perfume shop, Laugier père et fils. By\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eday they prepared the revitalizing elixirs and rejuvenating eaux it was\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efamous for, but by night using the ingredients of the perfumery and the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eprinciples of alchemy, they pursued the secret of life itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eElixir reads like a novel, brimming with eccentric characters,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eexperimental daring, and the romance of the Bohemian salon. It is the story\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eof a long-standing scientific puzzle and the struggle to gain acceptance for\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ea new way of thinking about the building blocks of living matter long after\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethose who discovered it were both dead. Yet this is also a story of hope\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand determination. For while the scientific establishment ridiculed their\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ework at the time, teenage lab assistant Louis Pasteur took it seriously and\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eover the course of an exceptional career, was able to show that their work\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epointed to a deep, inexplicable asymmetry in the molecular arrangement of\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eliving things - an unexplained asymmetry which remains one of science's great\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003emysteries.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Darling Reads","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48374276292932,"sku":"9781399803250","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0827\/1265\/8244\/files\/ad36c917af1fa7646fc88ee209e4704f.png?v=1752765959","url":"https:\/\/darlingreadsbooks.pro\/products\/9781399803250","provider":"Darling Reads","version":"1.0","type":"link"}