Around the world there are hundreds of nightly performances of Goethe’s Faust as well as actual attempts at soul-selling on eBay. Faustus has rightly been described as an icon of modern culture. But in 500 years no one has written his biography—until now. Faustus is the real story behind the legend. It is the story of a 16th-century scandal, who claimed mastery of the forbidden magical arts and dared rival all of the miracles attributed to Jesus. He evoked uproar and was accused of the worst crimes. But Faustus was not a charlatan, nor was he in league with the devil. To find the real Faustus is to find the real history of his age, and to take a tour from alchemical labs in princely dungeons to war-torn Italy, Martin Luther’s Reformation Wittenberg, and the magnificence of Charles V’s court. The life of the legend becomes as real as any living person.

Around the world there are hundreds of nightly performances of Goethe’s Faust as well as actual attempts at soul-selling on eBay. Faustus has rightly been described as an icon of modern culture. But in 500 years no one has written his biography—until now. Faustus is the real story behind the legend. It is the story of a 16th-century scandal, who claimed mastery of the forbidden magical arts and dared rival all of the miracles attributed to Jesus. He evoked uproar and was accused of the worst crimes. But Faustus was not a charlatan, nor was he in league with the devil. To find the real Faustus is to find the real history of his age, and to take a tour from alchemical labs in princely dungeons to war-torn Italy, Martin Luther’s Reformation Wittenberg, and the magnificence of Charles V’s court. The life of the legend becomes as real as any living person.