Doug Skinner cuts through the misunderstanding, mystification, lies, and wishful thinking about the Count – and those who impersonated him over the centuries – to present a portrait of this enigmatic and long-lived romantic hero.

The 18th century abounded in romantic riddles – the Man in the Iron Mask, Cagliostro, the Lost Dauphin… but there’s something uniquely engaging about the Count of St-Germain, who stepped from nowhere with no past and no name to dazzle the French court. He pops up from time to time across Europe, only to vanish, leaving extravagant rumours in his wake: he was immortal; owned the elixir of life; was a Rosicrucian; a spy; an incognito king.