"For Great Britain in the early eighteenth century, stocktrading,
government issues, and lotteries were all relatively new, and the
uncertainty that comes with newness created an exciting culture
within Exchange Alley." In David Liss's first novel, A CONSPIRACY
OF PAPER, inspired by the author's Columbia University doctoral
dissertation on personal finance in the 18th-century, is set amidst
the South Sea Bubble, an event in 1720 that is considered the first
stock market crash in the English-speaking world.

With remarkable acuity regarding the secret dealings of financiers
when finance was a new concept in a new world, Liss brings us the
historically rich and plot-heavy tale of one Benjamin Weaver, a
retired boxer who spends his days tracking debtors and thieves. A
CONSPIRACY OF PAPER is a thrilling piece of historical fiction in
the newly minted tradition of THE ALIENIST: half-truth,
half-fiction, business secrets and family secrets threaten to
destroy both the financial and emotional worlds that Weaver
straddles.

Like the underground movie hit Pi, which follows another
Jewish financial wizard through a maze of intellectually
challenging and financially advancing temptations, A CONSPIRACY OF
PAPER finds a way to combine the world of high-stakes money with
the details of both a deep and abiding interest in British history
and the specific requirements of the thriller genre. Liss seems to
be quite confident, from the interviews he's given since the
publication of the book, that he can help to usher in a new
generation of writers who will change the face of historical
fiction. Clearly, A CONSPIRACY OF PAPER is an outstanding first try
at putting this dream into action.

Although dense, the book never kowtows its financial astuteness to
the less knowledgeable of us readers and never sacrifices the
heart-revving necessities of maintaining a thrilling pace for extra
scholarly details. It is a well-balanced, enlightening, exciting,
and murderously captivating book. A CONSPIRACY OF PAPER is a
no-(over)load fun(d) for everybody.