6 h 20 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if living forever means never escaping the bargain that keeps you alive?
Auriol Darcy cannot die, but his long life comes at a terrible price. Marked by the elixir of life, he stands between a strange gift and the dark bargain bound to it. In William Harrison Ainsworth’s Gothic novel, the promise of immortality becomes a question of what a human life is worth.
Cyprian Rougemont, a learned and sinister tempter, holds dark power over Auriol’s fate. Ethelind offers a different hope: love and the warmth of ordinary life. Around them, London’s fog, alleys and back rooms give the old legend a haunted setting. The story brings magic, guilt and longing together, asking what endless years can cost when human happiness remains at stake.
What you’ll discover
- A gift with a price Follow a man caught between the promise of endless life and the bargain behind it.
- A tempter who holds on Meet Cyprian Rougemont, whose sinister power binds the elixir to Auriol’s uncertain fate.
- London in the fog Enter alleys and back rooms where an ancient legend takes on a city’s haunted atmosphere.
- Love against endless years Discover Ethelind’s place in Auriol’s hopes, and the ordinary joys that make life precious.
- The weight of immortality Explore how love and guilt complicate the dream of a life that never ends.
Who will love it
For readers who love Victorian Gothic, tales of magic and bargains with the devil, and the atmosphere of old London.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A man who has outlived his own age
- The tempter and the price of the bargain
- London as a Gothic stage
- Love, guilt and the cost of living forever
Who’s who
- Auriol DarcyA man marked by the elixir of life, caught between his gift and the bargain that came with it.
- Cyprian RougemontA learned and sinister figure tied to the elixir, who holds a dark power over Auriol's fate.
- EthelindThe woman bound up with Auriol's hopes, who stands for love and the warmth of an ordinary human life.
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- Audiobook
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- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Auriol oder das Lebenselixier
by William Harrison Ainsworth · 1844
In London's fog and alleys, Auriol Darcy faces the price of an elixir that keeps death away.
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In short
Auriol, or the Elixir of Life is a Gothic novel by William Harrison Ainsworth. It first appeared in monthly parts in Ainsworth's Magazine in the 1840s, with etchings by the artist Hablot Browne, who signed himself Phiz.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A man who has outlived his own age
The story centres on Auriol Darcy, a man marked by the elixir of life. The legend behind it is very old. Alchemists were said to seek a drink that would stop age and keep death away. Ainsworth takes that dream and shows what it does to the one who has it.
Auriol does not live like an ordinary man. The long years set him apart from the people around him. He carries knowledge and a burden that no friend can share. A man who sees one generation after another pass is bound to feel like a stranger in every age.
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What is Auriol, or the Elixir of Life about?
It is a Gothic tale about a man touched by the legendary elixir of life and bound to a sinister tempter. It asks what a life without end would cost, and is set partly in London.
Who wrote Auriol and when was it published?
William Harrison Ainsworth wrote it. It first appeared in monthly installments in Ainsworth's Magazine in the 1840s, with etchings by Phiz, and was later published as a book.
What is the elixir of life?
It is a legendary drink sought by alchemists, said to stop aging and keep death away. The novel uses this old idea to show what unending life might do to a person.
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