St. Leon, William Godwin's second novel, is a work of challenging ambition. Set during the Protestant Reformation, it tells the harrowing tale of an exiled French aristocrat who is given the secrets of the philosopher's stone and the elixer of life. His attempts to use these gifts to benefit humanity lead only to disaster, plunging him into self-destructive isoloation and arousing fascination, suspicion, and social unrest wherever he goes. It is a tale of obsession and spiralling pursuit, emphasizing the individual's powerlessness in the face of momentous historical change.