John Law : a Scottish adventurer of the eighteenth century
Buchan, James2018
Books, Manuscripts
At the summit of his power, John Law was the most famous man in Europe. Born in Scotland in 1671, he was convicted of murder in London and, after his escape from prison, fled Scotland for the mainland when Union with England brought with it a warrant for his arrest. On the continent he lurched from one money-making scheme to the next - selling insurance against losing lottery tickets in Holland, advising the Duke of Savoy - amassing a fortune of some £80,000. When Louis XIV died, leaving a thoroughly bankrupt France to his five-year-old heir, Law gained the ear of the Regent, Philippe D'Orleans. In the years that followed, Law's financial wizardry transformed the fortunes of France, enriching speculators and investors across the continent, and he was made Controller-General of Finances, effectively becoming the French Prime Minister. But his fall from grace was every bit as spectacular as his meteoric rise.
Main title:
John Law : a Scottish adventurer of the eighteenth century / James Buchan.
Author:
Buchan, James, author
Imprint:
London : MacLehose Press, 2018.
Collation:
513 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (black and white, and colour), maps (black and white, and colour) ; 24 cm
Notes:
Maps on lining papers.Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:
9780857053381 (hbk)
Dewey class:
332.092
LC class:
HG172
Local class:
920.1B 920.LAW
Language:
English
Subject:
BRN:
2285122