Quicksilver is a novel written by Neal Stephenson. Released in 2003, it is the first novel in Stephenson's Baroque Cycle and tells of the adventures of the Puritan Daniel Waterhouse.
Characters[]
- Daniel Waterhouse - a free-thinking Puritan
- "Half-Cocked Jack" Shaftoe - the legendary King of the Vagabonds
- Eliza - a spy and friend of Jack's
rest to be added
Publisher's summary[]
Quicksilver is the story of Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and conflicted Puritan, pursuing knowledge in the company of the greatest minds of Baroque-era Europe, in a chaotic world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty, and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the political landscape overnight.
It is a chronicle of the breathtaking exploits of "Half-Cocked Jack" Shaftoe--London street urchin turned swashbuckling adventurer and legendary King of the Vagabonds--risking life and limb for fortune and love while slowly maddening from the pox.
And it is the tale of Eliza, rescued by Jack from a Turkish harem to become spy, confidante, and pawn of royals in order to reinvent Europe through the newborn power of finance.
A gloriously rich, entertaining, and endlessly inventive novel that brings a remarkable age and its momentous events to vivid life, Quicksilver is an extraordinary achievement from one of the most original and important literary talents of our time.
And it's just the beginning...
See also[]
| Title | Author | Release date | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lemprière's Dictionary | Lawrence Norfolk | 1990 | A novel with similar themes and a similar setting |
| Cryptonomicon | Neal Stephenson | 1999 | A novel set in the same universe |
| Mason & Dixon | Thomas Pynchon | 1997 | A novel with similar themes |
| The Adventuress of Henrietta Street | Lawrence Miles | 2001 | A novel with similar themes |
Sources[]
- Wikipedia
- Goodreads