[1] It is through this book that her name has survived to the present day, and scholars have argued that this was the first work on chemistry or alchemy by a woman since that of Maria the Jewess in the late classical period.

She had a younger sister, Madame de La Guette, born Catherine Meurdrac (1613-1676), who later authored Memoirs.

[6] Meurdrac had her own laboratory, where she performed experiments with the aim of improving the lives of women, producing home remedies and beauty products, and recording her recipes diligently.

[7] Meurdrac had access to a high temperature furnace that she used for her experiments, unusual for the time, as it required special permission from the king.

[1] In either 1656 or 1666 Meurdrac published her famous treatise La Chymie Charitable et Facile, en Faveur des Dames (roughly "Useful and Easy Chemistry, for the Benefit of Ladies").

[12] The work, which was approved by the regent masters of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris, focused on providing affordable treatments for the poor.

[2] Meurdrac wrote in her introduction about her methods that "I have been very careful not to go beyond my knowledge, and I can assure that everything I teach is true, and that all my remedies have been tested; for which I praise and glorify God" (translation Bishop and DeLoach, 1970).

[7] Since the 1970s, scholars have been discussing the nature of La Chymie Charitable et Facile, en Faveur des Dames, with some arguing that it is a work on alchemy rather than chemistry.

[14] La Chymie has many similarities to the libri de segreti, medical and cosmetic books made popular in Renaissance Italy which were occasionally authored by women.

[citation needed] "When I began this small treatise, it was for my sole satisfaction, so as not to lose memory of the knowledge that I had acquired by means of long toil, and by divers experiments repeated several times.

I objected to myself that teaching was not the profession of a woman; that she ought to remain in silence, to listen and to learn, without bearing witness that she knows: that it is above her to give a work to the public, and that such a reputation is not by any means advantageous.