5 h 32 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 5 h 32 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In one London house, three rogues sell golden dreams to people eager to believe.
When Lovewit leaves London to escape the plague, his servant Face turns the house into a trap for hopeful customers. With Subtle, a fake alchemist, and the sharp Dol Common, he promises wonders through disguises, learned jargon and whatever part the next visitor needs them to play.
In Ben Jonson's stage comedy The Alchemist, Dapper wants help winning at gambling, while Sir Epicure Mammon dreams of gold and endless pleasure. Subtle offers the promise of the philosopher's stone. As visitors crowd into the same house over one day, the schemes depend on keeping each person's hunger stronger than their doubt.
What you’ll discover
- Three rogues at work Meet Face, Subtle and Dol Common as they turn other people's wishes into their business.
- A furious opening quarrel Enter amid shouting as Dol tries to stop Face and Subtle from fighting.
- Dreams of golden pleasure Follow Mammon's extravagant hopes for a stone he believes can bring wealth and cure illness.
- Words that fool people Watch invented jargon and lofty promises give deception the sound of knowledge.
- Greed with its eyes shut Discover a biting satire where customers arrive ready to see exactly what they want.
Who will love it
You will love this play if you enjoy sharp comedy, clever swindlers, and funny portraits of human weakness. It suits listeners who like a fast plot and a satire that still rings true.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An empty house becomes a trap
- Dapper pays to believe in luck
- Mammon supplies his own deception
- Holy purposes become an excuse
- A new prize strains the partnership
- The victim takes the blame
- The truth meets willing resistance
- Every voice reveals a different wish
- Desire keeps the fraud alive
Who’s who
- SubtleA fake alchemist who plays the learned doctor in Lovewit's house and wants money from every believer who comes to buy a miracle.
- FaceLovewit's housekeeper, who plays a captain, finds the customers, and wants a share of the money and a rich widow for himself.
- Dol CommonTheir partner, who plays a mad lady or a fairy queen as needed and wants her equal third of the profit.
- Sir Epicure MammonA rich knight who believes the philosopher's stone will give him endless gold, youth, and pleasure, and pays for every step.
- Pertinax SurlyA gambler and Mammon's doubting friend, who suspects the house is a trick and sets out to prove it.
- DapperA lawyer's clerk who pays for a familiar spirit to win at cards and believes the Fairy Queen is his aunt.
- Abel DruggerA young tobacco seller who wants luck for his new shop and keeps bringing the tricksters more customers.
- KastrilA country heir who comes to London to learn to quarrel like a gentleman and wants his widowed sister to marry a title.
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The Alchemist
by Ben Jonson · 1612
In a plague-empty London house, a servant, a fake alchemist and a con woman fleece every fool who knocks.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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“Fortune, who favors fools, for these two brief hours”
In short
What happens when a master flees the plague and leaves his London house in the hands of one clever servant? In Ben Jonson's comedy The Alchemist, the servant, who calls himself Face, joins a fake alchemist named Subtle and a woman called Dol Common in a swindling partnership.
The Alchemist at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 20 min1 h 50 min fast, 2 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 33,500 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1612by Ben Jonson
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A plague-emptied house becomes a con shop
The play opens in the middle of a fight. Face, dressed as a captain, has his sword out. Subtle, holding a vial, shouts back. Dol Common tries to stop them before the neighbours hear.
The insults tell you the backstory. Face was a plain servant who kept his master's house. Subtle was a starving quack. Face lent him the house, found him customers, and gave him a furnace. Each man says he made the other.
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Details
- First published
- 1612
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 3 h 35 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Jonson, Ben. The Alchemist. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-alchemist.
Jonson, B. (2026). The alchemist. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-alchemist (Original work published 1612)
Jonson, Ben. The Alchemist. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-alchemist.
@book{jonson2026alchemist,
author = {Jonson, Ben},
title = {The Alchemist},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-alchemist},
note = {First published 1612}
}
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What is The Alchemist by Ben Jonson about?
It is a comedy about three con artists, Subtle, Face, and Dol Common, who use an empty London house to cheat greedy customers with promises of gold, luck, and love, led by the idea of the philosopher's stone.
What is the philosopher's stone in The Alchemist?
It is the legendary substance alchemists said could turn base metals into gold and cure all illness. In the play Subtle claims to be making it, while other tricks promise gambling success, prosperous trade, or fashionable accomplishments.
Who is Face in The Alchemist?
Face is Lovewit's housekeeper, whose real name in the house is Jeremy. He plays a captain, finds customers in taverns, and works as the go-between for Subtle's tricks, always changing roles to suit the scene.
The author
Ben Jonson
1572–1637 · English playwright and poet
Ben Jonson (1572–1637) was an English playwright, poet, and actor who lived in London. He wrote Every Man in His Humour (1598), Volpone (1606), The Alchemist (1610), and The Devil Is an Ass (1616). A collection of his works appeared in 1616. He died in London in 1637.
“Fortune, who favors fools, for these two brief hours”
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