Belloc Hilaire Belloc 
Man Who Made Gold 

Professor Charles Lexington led a placid and uneventful life until he made the mistake of discovering a way by which lead could be turned into gold. A Mr. Bowry volunteered to help the Professor capitalize the discovery, and from then on things began to happen. Before Professor Lexington got back to earth he had been a match seller on the streets of London, an end man in a minstrel show, an inmate of a charitable institution, and a plumber.Here is just such a combination of insoluble mystery and waggish humor as brought unending delight to readers of Shadowed and the other "Chesterbelloc" tales in which laughter was crossed with diabolic plot. This tongue-in-cheek puzzler will tickle your funnybone and tax your ingenuity.