Fiction: William Godwin's St. Leon

[Paul Ferguson]

"St. Leon is the tale of a French aristocrat, Count Reginald de St. Leon, who loses his wealth gambling and experiences guilt that drives him almost to madness. He accepts the secret of the elixir of life and of the power of multiplying wealth from a dying stranger, ultimately causing him to wander separated from humankind."

https://archive.org/details/stleontaleof...1/mode/2up

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Leon_(novel)