A Conspiracy of Paper, by David Liss
This was a book I picked up at the airport, or perhaps it was on a sale rack of a bookstore. A Conspiracy of Paper isn’t the sort of book I’d generally pick up, but I thought I’d move a little outside of my usual realm. What a great read. It’s a book about the history of London in the 18th century, and to illustrate the history, the author, David Liss, weaves a tale that has characters from various classes so we can get a cross-section view of the stratas of society.
The protagonist is a a Jewish ex-boxer who has become a combination private detective / debt collector for wealthy clients. As he interacts with aristocrats, merchants, streetwalkers, petty thieves, and dilitantes, the reader is given a look into the legal, economic, and social workings of England at various levels. The author is a historian, and his attention to historical accuracy makes this book a particularly interesting read.