The World of Finance, Mystery, and History

When you turn the news on, at some point in the broad cast - a particular piece of information is relayed, information that is really just numbers, but important numbers. Here in the US, all eyes are on Wall Street - how did the Dow do today, and what about the NSDAQ, are we higher or lower. Lots of people invest in the stock market, either through IRA's, mutual funds, or direct stocks that you own. Was the stock market always the way it was, where did it all start, and how far has it come? When the stock market crashed here in the United States, during the early part of the twentieth century, chaos emerged but so did reform.

David Liss, a new an upcoming author, has written a book that has grabbed people's attention. David was born in 1966, and grew up in Southern Florida. He is currently a doctoral candidate in the English Department, at Columbia University. His dissertation topic -" how mid-eighteenth century British novel reflects and shapes the emergence of modern idea of personal finance. " (Background - back cover of his novel). The title of this novel - A Conspiracy of Paper, the book has already honored by the Mystery Writers of America, receiving the Edgar Award in the category of best first novel. While I am still in the process of reading the book, I am intrigued and excited about where this author is going with the story line.

It is set in 18th century England, London to be specific, and it main character is a Jew - a Jew that calls himself Weaver. He is a detective of sorts and is known to be honest, and to get the job done. Anti-Semitism still runs high at this time in London, so to be called upon is a great honor. The book starts taking a turn, looking into the death of Weaver's father, and a client's father who had died similarly and were in the same business. The world of finance. I cam across some terms, and decided to do some research in to the finance world in Britain and see what I could learn. In 1773 the London Stock Exchange was established, to this day it sits in the vicinity of the Bank of England and the Royal Exchange. They use different terms than the US, there are two main people that buy and sell stocks. You have the stockjobbers and the brokers. Brokers have customers who come to them to buy or sell stock and securities that they desire. Then in turn they go to a stockjobber who transacts on the floor of the exchange at prices for the brokers. The jobbers - help stabilize the market, but are not required to support prices. In the book, Weaver's dad is one of the few Jews allowed to be a licensed broker with the Exchange.

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