"Gabrovsky's insightful book contributes persuasive new evidence to support Chaucer's Renaissance reputation as a master-alchemist."

–Terry Jones

Actor, writer, film director, and a member of the Monty Python troupe​

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"Alexander Gabrovsky's rich and erudite monograph breathes new life into Chaucer's treatment of alchemy... Gabrovsky moves swiftly and perceptively across an impressive range of complex subjects–physics, natural philosophy, space, mathematics, modal logic, thought experiments, and alchemy (both chemical and allegorical)–in order to provide novel interpretations of the House of Fame, the Franklin's Tale, Troilus and Criseyde, and the Parliament of Fowls...Chaucer the Alchemist is a deeply informed and densely packed study that draws on a remarkable range of source material and scholarly learning to provide original and exciting perspectives on Chaucer's writings...This is a highly valuable and essential study for scholars interested in the depth and breadth of Chaucer's sophisticated use of medieval science and philosophy, which takes our understanding of the philosophical poet to new heights."

–Jagot, Speculum,  The Journal of the Medieval Academy of America

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"This remarkable new study of Chaucer's writing is both exciting and impressively learned, informed by the author's knowledge of medieval science at its most complex. Chaucer is shown to be deeply engaged with the metaphysics of change and flux, drawing across his writings on alchemical theory, the science of sound and motion, and more abstract concepts of change related to actual and potential modes of being. Gabrovsky demonstrates persuasively the extent to which Chaucer's writing is imbued with (meta)physical theory, and offers original and sophisticated readings of the dream vision poems, Troilus and Criseyde and "The Franklin's Tale." Familiar texts are opened out and made new, an impressive feat in Chaucer scholarship, while the reader also gains considerable knowledge of medieval physics. The book is fundamentally about transformation: its effects will also be transformative for the reader and for Chaucer studies."

–Corinne Saunders

Professor of Medieval Literature, University of Durham, UK

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"This is a wonderful and much needed book that responds to recent advances in the history of science and uses them to formulate some striking and provocative readings of Chaucer. Not only does Gabrovsky provide new evidence for the multi-dimensionality of the poet's learning, he also shows us the creativity with which that learning is deployed. Highlights of the book include the alchemical Franklin's Tale, Troilus 'the alembic,' and the discovery of organic decay as a unique sign of 'aliveness.'"

–Nicolette Zeeman

Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature, Head of Department, University of Cambridge, UK

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"Alexander N. Gabrovsky’s book is an important study into the role of alchemy and transmutation in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer and fourteenth-century scientific thought. Not only does Gabrovsky provide refreshing readings of the exhaustively-researched Canon’s Yeoman’s Tale in The Canterbury Tales, but he also extends his alchemical readings to lesser-known tales in the collection such as the Franklin’s Tale as well as in Chaucer’s other works such as Troilus and Criseyde...his study is invaluable for the history of alchemy and the use of science in medieval literature...Ultimately, the book is especially useful for considering the role of alchemy and science in Chaucer’s works and its impact upon character development and the imagination."

–Runstedler, Ambix: the Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry

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"provides an important re-evaluation of the influence of medieval sciences on Chaucer...As should be clear from the breadth of its survey, the work as a whole serves to stretch the limits of Chaucer’s scientific engagement, showing how fully themes of chemical mutability pervade his work."

–Parsons, Year's Work in English Studies

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