Dreams of Fire 
The Alchemist of Peacock Island

The new book by the “great storyteller” [Süddeutsche Zeitung]

Let's immerse ourselves in the grand dreams of a great man. Johannes Kunckel was a magician and alchemist who believed he could conjure gold. As a result, the king of Prussia granted him Peacock Island, located between Potsdam and Berlin, so he could secretly create a new world out of fire in his wizard’s workshop. In the end, a piece of glass -- as red as a ruby and unlike anything human eyes had ever seen -- emerged from his furnace. It would quickly become one of Europe’s most sought-after luxury goods.

In the middle of the Baroque era, Johannes Kunckel took the step from magic to chemistry, making history in the process. Florian Illies now retells this story in his inimitable, highly atmospheric style — with poetry, wit, and empathy for the past.

“Florian Illies is one of this country’s greatest storytellers.” 

— NDR Kulturjournal

“No one retells history more absorbingly than Florian Illies.”  

— Sonntagsblick

“Illies is masterful at turning history into adventure stories.”  

— Deutschlandradio Kultur

Florian Illies is the most successful non-fiction author in the German-speaking world

Time and again, he manages to transport the past into the present and make it come alive