The Alchemist's Apprentice [Paperback]

A historical picaresque novel by master storyteller Kate Thompson recounting the adventures of a boy trying to understand what really matters in the world.

The Alchemist's Apprentice tells the rags-to-riches story of Jack, the blacksmith's boy. Jack's quest leads him on a quixotic set of travels which have a rollicking 'Tom Jones' feel to them. Eventually after both hardship and luxury, Jack finds himself with the enigmatic alchemist, Barnstable, dabbling in alchemy until finally he holds in his hand the precious and long awaited nugget but by that time, of course, it is too late. For the marvels of life cannot be bought.

Jack is on the run. Alone in the world with nowhere to turn, he finds a strange object floating on the rising tide of the Thames. In trying to assess the value of the relic Jack meets Barnstable, an alchemist who only adds to the boy's perplexity by his enigmatic ways. Dramatic events escalate and Jack's fortunes change beyond all expectation. But the mystery surrounding the alchemist won't go away. Has he really discovered the secret of making gold?

In this gripping novel, Kate Thompson, master storyteller, describes the extraordinary adventures of a boy trying to understand what really matters in the world.

Kate Thompson, winner of the Irish Children's Book of the Year 2002, Bisto Award

Kate Thompson is one of the most exciting authors writing for young people today for she is a born storyteller, highly original and thought provoking in her ideas. She has travelled widely in the USA and India and studied law in London. After living in County Clare, she moved to Kinvara in County Galway and there, three years ago, she discovered her passion for playing the fiddle. She is now an accomplished player and also has a great interest in restoring instruments.

Kate is the only author to win the Children's Books Ireland Bisto Book of the Year award four times - in 2002 for The Beguilers, in 2003 for The Alchemist's Apprentice, in 2004 for Annan Water and in 2006 for The New Policeman.

The New Policeman also won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2005, the Whitbread Book Award Children's category 2005, the Children's Book of the Year in the Irish Book Awards in March 2006 and has been longlisted for the Carnegie Medal.