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

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.

What did it take to control the color of power, desire, and royalty?

• A True Microhistory: Following the model of Mark Kurlansky’s Salt, this book uncovers how a single commodity—a tiny insect—shaped global empires, economies, and art for centuries.
• The Spanish Empire’s Secret: Learn how Spanish conquistadors discovered cochineal in ancient Mexican marketplaces and jealously guarded the source of the world’s most vibrant red dye for over 300 years.
• Espionage and Piracy on the High Seas: Join the chase as European pirates, spies, alchemists, and scientists risk everything to break Spain’s monopoly and steal the coveted insect for their own empires.
• A Rich Narrative Nonfiction: Meticulously researched and told with the verve of an adventure novel, this popular history reveals the intrigue and obsession behind the world’s quest for a perfect red.