Kit Chapman is preparing to launch his new book in the spring. ‘The Age of Alchemy’ is a pop science history of chemistry, starting with the discovery of fire and stretching to the French Revolution. Unlike other histories, it covers early chemistry around the world, from China to the Americas, and focuses on its role in shaping our societies. It will be released on 30 April in the UK, and worldwide later that year, including translations in German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Polish.

Kit is currently in Rwanda – part of a much larger tour of the world acquiring book material; it is the 102nd country or territory he has visited. He spent Christmas at Victoria Falls, and so far this year, has been to Lesotho, Eswatini and South Africa, and will be returning to the UK via Uganda, Kenya and Qatar, before heading off again to do some guiding on cruise ships around Taiwan and Japan.