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A Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss

© Gail Giordano

Murder, money, and lustful desires. Mysterious and philosophical mayhem. The world of theory to the world of the elite. Paper - what is it? Is it simply a material used to write things on or does it mean more than that. An excellent recommendation for reading is David Liss's A Conspiracy of Paper. The book combines mystery, with history, and a little bit of romance and religion on the sidelines.

The setting is England in the beautiful town of London. London at this time has turned into the financial hub of the world during the Eighteenth century. The main character is a British Jew, a detective with an interesting background, from boxing to criminal activities. The remaining characters are of a wide variety; the elite gentleman, the merchants, the thieves, the thugs, the stock companies, and a beautiful lady. The supporting characters are of such a great variety that you are intrigued to put this puzzle of characters, and paper trail together. The main theme of the book is learning who is making fraudulent stock and how that ties into the murder of two members of London Society, is it the company, is it a person, is it a combination of the two. An interesting web that is weaved, with people who remain out of the limelight for quite a while but yet are truly not those hidden in the book.

With exciting twists and turns, you learn about the Jewish community in England during the 1700's and how that plays into the furious search for the mysterious person. You also learn about stocks, trades, and funds, and how it all worked together on the stock market, during the stock market's early days. You learn while reading this book why it is so important for us to have rules and regulations to help regulate the stock market and how it affects our money. 1 Timothy 6:10a says, "For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil." An interesting facet of the book, was watching how the detective has to go back to his roots to learn more about who and what he is looking for in solving this mystery.

A conspiracy of paper is a fun loving book, a great read, and an excellent tool in learning about what things might have been like during actual events in British Finance History. A book that makes you think about the changes that have occurred in the philosophy of money and the way we use it. While intrigued about this mystery you learn about the stock market, a prevalent rival that truly existed, and how it has helped shape the market as it is today. "As for justice and revenge, those lofty principles for which the South Sea victims clamored - these too are but commodities to be bought and sold upon the 'Change." (pg 437)