Madame Marguerite Maury (1895-1968) was an Austrian born biochemist who became interested in what was to become aromatherapy. While she was working with a surgeon in Alsace she read a book written in 1838 by Dr Chabenes called, 'Les Grandes Possibilités par les Matières Odoriferantes'. This was the man who would later become the teacher of RENE-MAURICE GATTEFOSSE. The book became Marguerite Maury's Bible and set her on her journey with Aromatherapy. Her influential book, 'Le Capital Jeunesse' was released in France in 1961 but sadly did not initially receive the acclaim that it deserved. In 1964 it was released in Britain under the title of 'The Secret of Life and Youth' and has at last been recognised for the great work that it was.

Marguerite Maury was born in Austria in 1895 and brought up in Vienna. Her first husband was killed in the First World War and she lost both her father and young son. Her father was a well known intellectual and supporter of the artist, Gustav Klimt. Marguerite obtained a degree in nursing and for a surgical assistant (the highest a woman could attain in that area at the time).

Marguerite met Dr Maury and they shared the same love of music, art, literature and above all their aim was to aim to heal through alternative ways. He wrote that: She had a scientific curiosity towards research which was little known, if not ridiculed by the great minds of the day. She subsequently gained indisputable fame through her pioneering qualities. Living in France, they explored homeopathy, naturopathy, osteopathy and radiesthesia. They formed a remarkable team working, researching and writing books together. It was at this time that Marguerite developed her research work to demonstrate and prove the effects of essential oils on the nervous system, their influence on the well being of people.

Through her years of research and practical application, she discovered the value of the active zone aromatic particles and recorded the effects with scientific probity. In the 1930s Marguerite Maury was developing her unique form of massage techniques. Her entire work was based solely on the principles that we can remain youthful in our attitude, energies and beliefs if we only take the time to look at how we take care of ourselves. She lectured and gave seminars on the subject throughout Europe and opened aromatherapy clinics in Paris, Switzerland and England. Marguerite Maury believed that by keeping our systems clear and functioning effectively we can continue to enjoy more of what we had in our youth even with passing years.

She possessed some of the eccentricities of genius, but she was also one of the most generous and loveable of women, a magnetic and charismatic person. She was a veritable whirlwind of energy and enthusiasm, working ceaselessly until quite literally she died on the 25th September 1968. Her last manuscript was found beside her bed. It began: 'The aromatherapy involved in cosmetology can lead to the most extraordinary of results.'