he story of an ex-prizefighter in 18th century London, his relationship with his Jewish family, his new profession as a private eye (new to everyone) and the high finance of the South Sea Bubble. The lead character is a little too naive for my taste, but may well represent the way people thought before the Holmsian critical thinking became more commonplace. Well written and an interesting portrait of the time. ( )

I loved this book! This was less of a murder mystery and more of an examination of finance and philosophy in 18th century England. At the same time, the characters and issues resonate with the late 20th, early 21st century world of finance. The protagonist Benjamin Weaver is a fascinating character, one whose actions aren't always commendable but whose independence and desire for truth are admirable. All in all, a very enjoyable read! ( )

A novel, set in early 18th century London, revolving around the trading in stocks of the South Sea company, the famed South Sea bubble. The hero is a Jewish man, Benjamin Weaver, estranged from his family, who was for a time a pugilist (The Lion of Judah), but at the time of the novel has set himself up as a private detective (a "thieftaker"). His competitor is a criminal who controls most of the thiefs, and who simply acts as a fence for the stolen property this character is supposedly the origin of the term "double cross", named after the double mark he put against his ledgers of thieves when he sold them out to the police. The plot is complex; Weaver thinks he is recovering some love letters from a whore for a nobelman, but the letters are really forged stock certificates in a grand scheme. The period detail is very interesting. ( )

The very first stock market crash: read about how the whole mess started and you won't be too surprised about where we have ended up. There are fun mysteries to solve along the way, and some colorful characters. Seems a little long, plot kinda drags in spots, but a good read overall. ( )

The very first stock market crash: read about how the whole mess started and you won't be too surprised about where we have ended up. There are fun mysteries to solve along the way, and some colorful characters. Seems a little long, plot kinda drags in spots, but a good read overall. ( )

The very first stock market crash: read about how the whole mess started and you won't be too surprised about where we have ended up. There are fun mysteries to solve along the way, and some colorful characters. Seems a little long, plot kinda drags in spots, but a good read overall. ( )

Took back without reading. ( )

This book is deep rich historical novel that is well worth the time and effort that one invests in it. Certainly we have had tales of the South Sea Bubble before, and we know it as the worlds first great stock swindle, Ivan Boesky and Michael Miliken beware.

This tale is not that. We have that as background in its historical context. Just as we have recently lived through the internet stock explosion of the turn of the century where it was so obvious that if you have a website, you are an instant millionaire. So to with the South Sea bubble, anything connected to the endeavor will make you a fortune.

This story uses those details as background. Once again Liss provides his Jewish heritage to give us insight into not only the times but how the Jewish community fits in those times. That additional application of facts enriches the entire tale. But there is something more here then just jewish heritage and the economic troubles of the times. There is a murder mystery, and the bodies keep accumulating.

Certainly the deft weaving of all the elements elevates this book to greatness and even more should be attainable if in the end device is not used for cleverness. Is the bad guy the bad guy, let us cast doubt. That is not needed. Then the complexity of the finances are still complex enough that motive seems wanting.

Is it worth a second read, perhaps in a decade, but it is definitely worth your while now. ( )

The positive reviews of this novel caught my eye from time to time, but because I wasn't sure I would like a book about an 18th century Jewish ex-boxer, I didn't give a lot of thought to actually reading it. I was wrong. Yes, there are some violent scenes in the book where the main character's boxing skills are put to good use, but he is more interested in developing his philosophy and reasoning skills in order to get to the root of a complex financial scheme related to his father's murder. I found it easy to identify with him since the story is told in his voice.

The book is filled with historical detail of early 18th century London and its financial markets. At the same time, its focus on the stock trade gives it a contemporary feel. The nature of the stock market really hasn't changed much in three centuries. Although the setting is very different, this book reminds me a lot of John Grisham's The Firm -- I suppose since both books involve complex webs of corruption in large corporations.

Benjamin Weaver is an intriguing character. Like everyone else in the book, he appears to be motivated more by self-interest rather than by any moral code, yet it sometimes troubles him when he does the right thing for the wrong reason. I'll be interested to see how his character develops in subsequent novels. ( )

This is one of the first books that I found with LT that I probably wouldn't have found on my own, so thank you to everyone involved!

It's a great pleasure to read a novel that is so tightly written. There are no subplots, characters, or episodes that are completely superfluous. Some of them don't contribute as much to the main narrative as others, but they add to the overall setting in a realistic way.

The setting is in the infancy of the English stock industry with events of the South Sea Bubble as the backdrop. The hero, Benjamin Weaver, investigates whether the deaths of his father and another man were murders, contrary to the coroner's verdicts.

Liss does an excellent job describing the lives and circumstances of both immigrant and native-born Jews of the era. That part of the story is an interesting complement to the mystery itself.

Also, as he notes in the afterword, Liss has modulated the flowery speech of the time with contemporary usage. The result is dialogue that is characteristic of the setting yet never tedious to read. As one character relates on a similar point, there is not much "I am your servant."

This isn't a lightweight book to read in an afternoon! The intrigues and machinations are a bit more complex than most other books, and that only adds to its appeal. ( )

Ben Weaver is a finely drawn character, full of contradictions and contrasts. He is tough and self-reliant, fully self-confident, but with refined tastes and unexpected erudition. He actually reminds me of a dear friend. The book was a welcome education on an era I knew little about and the hardscrabble beginnings of the stock market. An interesting story, a captivating mystery, and the introduction of a lovely character I look forward to seeing again in subsequent novels. ( )

This is the second Liss novel I've read (the other was The Whiskey Rebels) and neither have disappointed. Who would think that 1790 London and "stock jobbers" would be the basis for such a compelling novel. Liss does a wonderful job building intrigue, characters, and atmosphere in his financial "historical" fiction niche. He's now permanently on my author TBR list! ( )

Enjoyed, but do start a paper diagram with this book to follow the convoluted plot.

Enjoyed, but do start a paper diagram with this book to follow the convoluted plot.

David Liss definitely enjoys writing this historical financial detective stories. Here, in his first novel, we follow the adventures of Benjamin Weaver, a secular Jewish boxer turned thief-taker, as he tries to work out who killed his estranged father and one of his father's business partners. There's a good number of suspects, lots of potential for things going wrong, but the story has one of those framing devices where the character is writing his memoirs from years off in the future, so you know that it couldn't have gone too badly for him.

The writing style is meant to be fairly contemporary, and pulls it off well without it feeling too stilted; in fact, it can be fairly witty in places. The lead couple of characters are pretty well laid out; Weaver really is conflicted about his status as a Jew, his relations to his family and to society, and for his past conduct. You really get a feel for him. The lead female character, Miriam, is also pretty interesting, although in a similar fashion to his newest novel, the Whiskey Rebels, probably a bit more modern in tone and thought than is historically accurate. The secondary characters were amusing or interesting, but not very complicated, for the most part. For a mystery, that's not that surprising, though.

I enjoyed the mystery part of it well enough, and you do learn a lot about the nature of the markets and such of the time, but it can get to sound a bit like a lecture in some parts. You need the info, but the style fails sometimes that way. At least Liss doesn't hammer home the parallels between the stock market speculation problems of that time and now. The presentation of the time period, the place, and the Jewish community there were well done; I'm pretty happy with it.

This book was quite enjoyable, although not as polished as Liss's more recent work. As a first novel, that's to be expected, though. I look forward to reading more of his work soon. ( )

See: http://www.thetruthasiseeit.com/2008/... ( )

Liss packs a lot of craft into one novel. It's a mystery. It's "financial historical fiction" (the elements of the early London financial markets that led up the the South Sea Bubble). And it is an introduction to the distinct cultures within London in the early 18th century. The parallels to the internet bubble of the late 20th century are clear but lack a tone of moral condescension that would have been tempting to many authors. ( )

I read this a year and a half ago, so I don't have the details on hand, but I CAN say that I enjoyed it so much, I've since purchased two other books by David Liss. I read this because it was selected by my book group, and I started to think, "Stock trading in the 1700s? Yawn." By the end of the first chapter, as the cliche says, the story had grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go. It's full of excitement and twists, interesting characters, and great period details (the author knows the time period very well). I stayed up quite late to finish reading it, and even looked over the additional notes and conversation with the author before putting it down to go to sleep. It was so much fun, I didn't want it to end. ( )

Liss, David. A Conspiracy of Paper. Ballantine Books, New York, 2000. A fun mystery set in 18th century England. I certainly learned a lot of the early days of stock trading. A great vacation book.

I don't remember why I picked this one up, but I'm glad I did.

There's a nice mix of historical and fictional characters, all of whom have their own agenda and secrets (something too often neglected in mysteries, in my opinion). Every time Weaver, the main character, thinks he has things figured out he learns something that puts all of it in doubt again.

My main complaint is the odd how-everyone's-life-ended-up epilogue... I could have done without that. ( )

Liss writes so entertainingly and ingelligently, and assumes his audience is likewise intelligent. The plot involves very early stock speculation, nefarious fiduciary impropriety, conflicts between Jews and Christians in 18th century London, as well as conflicts between Jews themselves. ( )

Edgar-awarding winning novel by an ABD in economics. Follows the story of a Jewish pugulist (I just wanted to type that word). ( )

Good story, well told. I'd read another Liss novel. ( )

a very fine historical mystery