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Isabella Cortese was an Italian alchemist and writer, popular during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. All that is known of her life and studies is from her book The Secrets of Lady Isabella Cortese, published 1561.

Education
Cortese claimed to have studied alchemy for thirty years, including the works of established alchemists such as Geber, Raymond Lull, and Arnold of Villanova. Cortese 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, some have 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. Of course, it is impossible to know the true gender of the author and any statement otherwise is speculation

The Secrets of Lady Isabella Cortese
First published in 1561, the instructional book covered a wide array of supposed alchemical solutions to very diverse problems. Her book offered instructions for how to create many practical items such as toothpaste, glue, polish, soap, and cosmetics. One treatment calls for a combination of fixed camphor, quicksilver, and sulfur to make a "universal medicine" through a metaphorical joining of mind, body, and soul. Another calls for a mixture of quail testicles, large winged ants, oriental amber, musk, and an oil made from elder and storax. This mixture was a supposed treatment for erectile dysfunction. She also provides a supposed method to make gold. As long as all instructions are followed exactly, the book claims all of its secrets will belong to the reader.

Reception
In its time, The Secrets of Lady Isabella Cortese was popular. It was published in eleven editions between 1561 and 1677, as well as two editions of a German translation. Part of this success can be attributed to Cortese's insistence on her readers keeping her book's secrets to themselves. She asked her readers to keep people away from there alchemical workplace and to burn her book once they had learned all of its secrets.