A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire

“You’ll finish [Greenfield’s] book with new respect for color, especially for red. With A Perfect Red, she does for it what Mark Kurlansky in Salt did for that common commodity.”—Houston Chronicle

Interweaving mystery, empire, and adventure, Amy Butler Greenfield’s masterful popular history offers a window onto a world far different from our own: a world in which the color red was rare and precious—a source of wealth and power for those who could unlock its secrets. And in this world nothing was more prized than cochineal, a red dye that produced the brightest, strongest red the Old World had ever seen.

A Perfect Red recounts the story of this legendary red dye, from its cultivation by the ancient Mexicans and discovery by 16th-century Spanish conquistadors to the European pirates, explorers, alchemists, scientists, and spies who joined in the chase to unlock its secrets, a chase that lasted more than three centuries. It evokes with style and verve this history of a grand obsession, of intrigue, empire, and adventure in pursuit of the most desirable color on earth.

A Perfect Red recounts the colorful history of cochineal, a legendary red dye that was once one of the world's most precious commodities. Treasured by the ancient Mexicans, cochineal was sold in the great Aztec marketplaces, where it attracted the attention of the Spanish conquistadors in 1519. Shipped to Europe, the dye created a sensation, producing the brightest, strongest red the world had ever seen. Soon Spain's cochineal monopoly was worth a fortune.

Desperate to find their own sources of the elusive dye, the English, French, Dutch, and other Europeans tried to crack the enigma of cochineal. Did it come from a worm, a berry, a seed? Could it be stolen from Mexico and transplanted to their own colonies? Pirates, explorers, alchemists, scientists, and spies -- all joined the chase for cochineal, a chase that lasted more than three centuries. A Perfect Red tells their stories -- true-life tales of mystery, empire, and adventure, in pursuit of the most desirable color on earth.

“A fascinating story of greed and subterfuge, mixing fashion, folly and ingenuity in equal measure... Written with style and verve.” - J. H. Elliott, University of Oxford

“A marvelous book... Meticulously researched, this saga will enchant lovers of historical mysteries, fascinating characters, and world economics.” - Mark Pendergrast, author of UNCOMMON GROUNDS and MIRROR MIRROR

“With A PERFECT RED, she does for [red] what Mark Kurlansky in SALT did for that common commodity.” - Houston Chronicle

“[An] intricate history...Greenfield paints a broad historical panorama, never neglecting the intimate, eccentric, and often absurd human details.” - Boston Globe

“Greenfield does what the best historical authors do--follows the thread of a story through history without missing a stitch.” - Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Fascinating...Greenfield has given us a superbly researched history of cochineal red, full of angles and tangents, curiosities and arcana.” - Diane Ackerman, Washington Post Book World

“A superbly researched history . . . full of angles and tangents, curiosities and arcana.” - Diane Ackerman, Washington Post Book World

“Pirates! Kings! Beautiful ladies! Daring spies! . . . Greenfield combines the investigative prowess of a detective with the intellectual reasoning of an academician to create an eminently entertaining and educational read.” - Booklist

“A gem of accessible history.” - San Diego Union-Tribune

“A fascinating and largely unknown story of greed and subterfuge, mixing fashion, folly and ingenuity in equal measure…Written with style and verve…A Perfect Red is a book that should not be missed.” - Professor Sir John Elliott, Oxford

“Delightful, rollicking history . . . A fun read, well-supported by extensive research.” - Los Angeles Times Book Review