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The Gamester (1949)

by Rafael Sabatini

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343718,738 (3.63)None
John Law had a remarkable career ahead of him. Already a successful banker, he was an outstanding figure set to go far. Yet his Scottish homeland was fraught with potential pitfalls and when he killed 'Beau Wilson' in a dual, it seemed that the gods had finally conspired against him and his career was to be cut short in its prime. However, dissatisfied with his fate, Law contrived to escape from Newgate and avoid his death sentence; instead fleeing to France where he lived a life of adventure and excitement, and turned his banking skills to the gambling tables...… (more)
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Is finance a game? Who better than a dice and card expert to solve the worries of Philippe d'Orleans, Regent of France?
Some of the books' quotes are worthy of a reminder:

"A more sober analysis suggests we're closer to the bottom; there is light at the end of the tunnel, but it's going to take a while longer, and the recovery is going to be weaker than otherwise expected."

No that is not from John Law, the hero of "The gamester", it's from Nouriel Roubini...

"Repudiation (of the King's debt) must create such confusion as to bring the affairs of the Kingdom to a chaos from which it is difficult to discern the issue. You will have witnessed the bankruptcy of an individual, and you will have seen the utter ruin and destitution-almost the obliteration-of that individual's family. But you can picture the national ruin, the terrible disruption that must attend the bankruptcy of the State. It needs imagination to perceive the full horror of the spectacle. But I will endeavour to help you perceive it if you wish."

Now that is from Law according to Sabatini...(The Gamester, p.14 - The Riverside Press Cambridge, 1949) not from Roubini...

And if finance could be a pirate novel, then read the Gamester... ( )
  Artymedon | May 27, 2009 |
A daring and intelligent gamester finds favor with the Regent of France and uses his influence to attempt to fix the country's desperate financial situation, while bringing himself higher and higher in power.

Not Sabatini's best, but still very enjoyable if you can get past all the finance stuff. I particularly enjoyed the ending. ( )
  kwmcdonald | Jan 7, 2007 |
Features an exiled Scot in Paris of the early 1700s, in the context of finance and banking; slow to get going and a bit intricate, but worth reading ( )
  nholmes | Oct 31, 2006 |
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John Law had a remarkable career ahead of him. Already a successful banker, he was an outstanding figure set to go far. Yet his Scottish homeland was fraught with potential pitfalls and when he killed 'Beau Wilson' in a dual, it seemed that the gods had finally conspired against him and his career was to be cut short in its prime. However, dissatisfied with his fate, Law contrived to escape from Newgate and avoid his death sentence; instead fleeing to France where he lived a life of adventure and excitement, and turned his banking skills to the gambling tables...

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