Everything changes for orphaned Jan when his beloved uncle, Gustav - anatomist, natural scientist and aspiring alchemist - enlists his help in a quest to create a life-generating serum. To test the serum, they must follow a set of ancient instructions and play a dangerous game of bringing the inanimate to life... When Gustav dies suddenly, it's up to Jan to continue his work - little does he know that his beautiful, calculating aunt dreams of using the serum for her own purposes - eternal life.
Under the façade of her grief, she convinces Jan they must move from Vienna to Prague, and when she mysteriously disappears, Jan searches for her. In the plague-ridden ghettos and the court of the mad Emperor Rudolf, he must pit his wits against an extraordinary cast of characters and events. His only ally is Zuzana, a girl with secrets of her own.
Set against the vivid backdrop of 16th century Prague and the equally breathtaking Vienna, a magical, historical adventure from a talented author.
- ISBN10 144400283X
- ISBN13 9781444002836
- Publish Date 26 August 2010 (first published 3 June 2010)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Hachette Children's Group
- Imprint Orion Children's Books (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
- Edition Digital original
- Format eBook (EPUB)
- Pages 224
- Language English