Gleeson, Janet The Moneymaker ISBN 13: 9780593044988

The Moneymaker - Hardcover

9780593044988: The Moneymaker
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Three hundred years ago, a charismatic young gambler and man-about-town with a natural gift for mathematics fled London for the Contintent. His name was John Law and he had a good reason to go, having killed a man in a duel. Living off his lucrative winnings at the gaming tables of Europe, Law became increasingly fascinated by the nature of finance and journeyed to the impoverished , famine-stricken France of Louis XIV with an extraordinary idea. At the time when wealth was stored and exchanged as gold and silver coin - and there was rarely enough to fund the extravagance of kings, let alone trade - Law realised that the overriding problem was lack of available money. He reasoned that if this could be lent in the form of paper, properly backed by assets, then it could be lend repeatedly and credit used to multiply the opportunities for the making of money. Such a radical notion meant Law faced opposition from powerful vested interests. His persistence paid off in 1716 when, with royal backing, he established the first French bank to issue paper money. He also created a trading company which made its shareholders rich beyond their wildest dreams: so much so that the new term 'millionaire' was coined to describe them. What follows is the stuff of epic drama: a tale of fortunes won and lost, of paupers made rich and lords losing all. And in telling this enthralling tragi-comic story, Janet Gleeson brings to life two fascinating characters who together would change the way the world worked: the inscrutable John Law, and mercurial money itself.

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About the Author:
Janet Gleeson was born in Sri Lanka, where her father was a tea planter. After taking a degree in History of Art and English she joined Sotheby's, and later worked for Bonhams Auctioneers. In 1991 she joined Reed Books, where she was responsible for devising and writing Miller's Antiques and Collectibles. She is the author of the Sunday Times non-fiction bestsellers The Arcanum and The Moneymaker. She is also the author of three novels, The Grenadillo Box, The Serpent in the Garden and The Thief-Taker.
Review:
"'Excellent . . . Gleeson is exemplary in her lucidity. If you can imagine Keynes' General Theory rewritten by the Marx Brothers you will have some idea of this remarkable book.'" * The Sunday Times *

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  • PublisherBantam
  • Publication date1999
  • ISBN 10 0593044983
  • ISBN 13 9780593044988
  • BindingHardcover
  • Edition number1
  • Number of pages271
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Gleeson, Janet
ISBN 10: 0593044983 ISBN 13: 9780593044988
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. 1st Edition. London. Bantam Press/Transworld Publishers. 1999. First Edition/First Printing (1 in number line on copyright page). Hard Cover. Burgundy boards with gilt spine titles. Book and pictorial dust wrapper are both new. Decorative endpapers. At the height of his fame, Scot John Law was the French Controller General of Finance, the so-called father of finance, and the man who dreamed up paper money and the credit economy. The rest of the time he was a gambler living off his winnings, eloping with another's man's wife, and escaping to Amsterdam, to narrowly avoid execution for killing a man in a duel. Law's trajectory set the scene for our own contemporary boom-to-bust economy. In the teeth of opposition from powerful vested interests, Law won backing to set up the first French bank in 1716 to issue paper currency. He created a trading company that made its shareholders so wealthy that a new term - millionaires - was coined to describe them. But when the bubble burst and speculation gave way to panic, he fled to Venice with his creditors at his heels, and died there a poor man. Seller Inventory # MAR13.22012

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Gleeson, Janet
Published by Bantam (1999)
ISBN 10: 0593044983 ISBN 13: 9780593044988
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Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 0.97. Seller Inventory # Q-0593044983

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