Isabella Cortese

Isabella Cortese (fl. 1561), was an Italian alchemist and writer of the Renaissance. All that is known of her life and work is from her book on alchemy: The Secrets of Lady Isabella Cortese.

Education

Cortese claimed to have studied alchemy for thirty years, including the works of established alchemists such as Geber, Ramon Llull, and Arnold of Villanova. She however was widely dismissive of their work calling it "complete gibberish, filled with fables and crazy recipes that only make you lose time and money". She believed she had gained nothing by studying their work but an "increase in the likelihood of an early death". Only by her own processes did she believe she had uncovered alchemical secrets.

Controversy Over Gender

Because nothing is known about Cortese outside of her own novel, it has been speculated that perhaps the author of The Secrets of Lady Isabella Cortese was in fact a man, posing as a woman in the belief that female authorship would increase sales among the anti-elite. It is impossible to know whether this speculation is true or not.