Items related to John Law: A Scottish Adventurer of the Eighteenth Century
At the summit of his power, John Law was the most famous man in Europe.
Born in Scotland in 1671, he was convicted of murder in London and, after his escape from prison, fled Scotland for the mainland when Union with England brought with it a warrant for his arrest.
On the continent he lurched from one money-making scheme to the next - selling insurance against losing lottery tickets in Holland, advising the Duke of Savoy - amassing a fortune of some £80,000.
But for his next trick he had grander ambitions. When Louis XIV died, leaving a thoroughly bankrupt France to his five-year-old heir, Law gained the ear of the Regent, Philippe D'Orleans. In the years that followed, Law's financial wizardry transformed the fortunes of France, enriching speculators and investors across the continent, and he was made Controller-General of Finances, effectively becoming the French Prime Minister.
But the fall from grace that was to follow was every bit as spectacular as his meteoric rise.
John Law, by a biographer of Adam Smith and the author of Frozen Desire and Capital of the Mind, dramatises the life of one of the most inventive financiers in history, a man who was born before his time and in whose day the word millionaire came to be coined.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
James Buchan is the author of several novels, including A Parish of Rich Women, which won the 1984 Whitbread Book of the Year award, and Heart's Journey in Winter which won the Guardian prize. He is also an outstanding literary critic and non-fiction writer whose works include a biography of Adam Smith, Frozen Desire: An Enquiry into the Meaning of Money and Captial of the Mind.
Review:
A wonderful portrait of Law's Paris and Europe, of the Regent and the Jacobites. I loved it and could hardly put it down.―Philip Mansel
There's a place for a well researched, popular, comprehensive biography of John Law and Buchan's is certainly that . . . Even with the benefit of this wonderful book with its wealth of new information and masterful storytelling, it is difficult to know what to make of John Law.―Harry McGrath, Scottish Review of Books.
One of our finest writers.―John Burnside, The Times.
Mr Buchan has a clear writing style, a light touch and a irreverent sense of humour . . . he makes difficult subjects accessible and, sometimes, poetic.―Economist.
Law's story is well and wittily told by Buchan . . . The mores of the time... are superbly depicted. The age comes alive.―David Aaronovitch, The Times.
Law's is an extraordinary story, and this is an extraordinary book . . . Buchan writes with such wit and lucidity.―Allan Massie, Literary Review.
James Buchan's elegant prose sparkles on the page.―New Statesman.
In Mr. Buchan's able hands, Smith and his words come across as they should, in all their lucidity and elegance.―William Grimes, New York Times, on Adam Smith: and the Pursuit of Perfect Liberty.
In Buchan, Law has at last found a biographer who combines an expert understanding of finance, a profound knowledge of 18th-century history, and a novelist's gift for anecdote and pace. The result is an immensely valuable and enjoyable book that conjures a narrative worthy of Robert Louis Stevenson out of a deeply impressive harvest of primary archival research. It is history of the highest class, and will take its place deservedly as the standard biography of Law.―Felix Martin, Financial Times.
I don't believe this country has a better writer to offer than James Buchan.―Michael Hofmann, London Review of Books.
There's a place for a well researched, popular, comprehensive biography of John Law and Buchan's is certainly that . . . Even with the benefit of this wonderful book with its wealth of new information and masterful storytelling, it is difficult to know what to make of John Law.―Harry McGrath, Scottish Review of Books.
One of our finest writers.―John Burnside, The Times.
Mr Buchan has a clear writing style, a light touch and a irreverent sense of humour . . . he makes difficult subjects accessible and, sometimes, poetic.―Economist.
Law's story is well and wittily told by Buchan . . . The mores of the time... are superbly depicted. The age comes alive.―David Aaronovitch, The Times.
Law's is an extraordinary story, and this is an extraordinary book . . . Buchan writes with such wit and lucidity.―Allan Massie, Literary Review.
James Buchan's elegant prose sparkles on the page.―New Statesman.
In Mr. Buchan's able hands, Smith and his words come across as they should, in all their lucidity and elegance.―William Grimes, New York Times, on Adam Smith: and the Pursuit of Perfect Liberty.
In Buchan, Law has at last found a biographer who combines an expert understanding of finance, a profound knowledge of 18th-century history, and a novelist's gift for anecdote and pace. The result is an immensely valuable and enjoyable book that conjures a narrative worthy of Robert Louis Stevenson out of a deeply impressive harvest of primary archival research. It is history of the highest class, and will take its place deservedly as the standard biography of Law.―Felix Martin, Financial Times.
I don't believe this country has a better writer to offer than James Buchan.―Michael Hofmann, London Review of Books.
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- PublisherQuercus Publishing
- Publication date2020
- ISBN 10 184866608X
- ISBN 13 9781848666085
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages528
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. At the summit of his power, John Law was the most famous man in Europe. Born in Scotland in 1671, he was convicted of murder in London and, after his escape from prison, fled Scotland for the mainland when Union with England brought with it a warrant for his arrest. On the continent he lurched from one money-making scheme to the next - selling insurance against losing lottery tickets in Holland, advising the Duke of Savoy - amassing a fortune of some 80,000.But for his next trick he had grander ambitions. When Louis XIV died, leaving a thoroughly bankrupt France to his five-year-old heir, Law gained the ear of the Regent, Philippe D'Orleans. In the years that followed, Law's financial wizardry transformed the fortunes of France, enriching speculators and investors across the continent, and he was made Controller-General of Finances, effectively becoming the French Prime Minister. But the fall from grace that was to follow was every bit as spectacular as his meteoric rise.John Law, by a biographer of Adam Smith and the author of Frozen Desire and Capital of the Mind, dramatises the life of one of the most inventive financiers in history, a man who was born before his time and in whose day the word millionaire came to be coined. The mesmerising story of the eighteenth-century financier of genius who rose from humble Scottish origins to control of the purse-strings of the most powerful nation in Europe Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781848666085
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