The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley

economic policy, only cursory examination. For example, although Read details elements
of his education, he does not ask how Cecil‘s time at Cambridge University influenced his
worldview. 13 Furthermore, whilst Read refers to manuscripts from many of the available
archives, he often relies on those printed in works such as William Murdin‘s Collection of
State Papers Relating to Affairs in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth (1759), further narrowing his field
of enquiry. 14 This may also have been responsible for Read perpetuating several long-
standing and largely erroneous assumptions, such as of a Court factionalised by deep seated
hostility between Cecil and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. 15 In reality while the two
often differed on policy, they also often worked together cordially and effectively. 16
Michael Graves‘ criticism that Read ―offers no clearly defined image or assessment of
Burghley‖ is largely accurate. 17
When Read did encounter one of Cecil‘s alchemical projects, he, like many other
political historians, disparaged their importance. Cecil‘s involvement in the Society of the
New Art‘s attempts to transmute iron into copper is described as ―a little adventure in
alchemy‖ that inevitably came to nothing. 18 To Read the whole project, which had been
one of Cecil‘s chief domestic concerns for over three years, served only to ―show that like
all his fellows even Burghley succumbed on occasion to the alluring promises of the
alchemists‖. 19
Read found Cecil‘s protracted attempts to convince the alchemist Edward Kelley to
return to England more problematic and provided some details of the episode. Read had
difficulty in reconciling the pragmatic administrator and politician of his biography with the
credulous dupe who would plead for an alchemist to help restore Crown finances.
Concluding that ―the whole story is an incredible one‖, Read admitted that ―Burghley was a
13 Read, Mr Secretary Cecil, pp. 25-28.
14 Read also references John Strype‘s often inaccurate transcriptions. See Read, Mr Secretary Cecil, pp. 469-495;
Read, Lord Burghley, pp. 549-603; William Murdin, Collection of State Papers Relating to Affairs in the Reign of Queen
Elizabeth, London, 1759.
15 Read, Lord Burghley, pp. 316-17.
16 Michael Graves, Burghley: William Cecil, Lord Burghley, London, 1998, pp. 122-4.
17 Ibid., p. 10.
18 Read, Lord Burghley, p. 145.
19 Ibid., p. 145.
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