With the help and hindrance of several characters encountered in Conspiracy as well as a few new ones, Weaver plunges into the fractious world of 18th century British politics.Īs Liss noted in A Spectacle of Corruption, he feels that 'there is important political work to be done by writing a novel that exposes the corruption of another age.' Appropriately, all three of Liss' books refract the turmoil of our current age through that of the 18th century. As Liss characterizes it, 'that city Jews enjoyed a degree of freedom unrivaled in the rest of Christendom.' Following Miguel Lienzo, a relative of Benjamin Weaver, as he attempts to make in fortune in the nascent coffee industry, the story shifts between multiple perspectives relating how merchants in 1659 were swept up in the speculation over the strange new commodity of coffee.Ī Spectacle of Corruption, Liss' third book, returns to London to pick up the tale of Benjamin Weaver, now wanted for murder. Liss' next book, The Coffee Trader, is based in 17th century Amsterdam, a city more accepting of its Jewish population than many other cities at the time. To uncover the truth, such as it is, involves a rollicking and intriguing ride through the parlors and backrooms of high society and poorest slums of the city. The tale centers around a former pugilist, Benjamin Weaver, a Jew on the outskirts of Christian society who sets out to investigate the death of his estranged father.

A Conspiracy of Paper is set in 18th century London against the advent of stock speculation and the brewing fight between the Bank of England and the South Sea Company.

The dissertation was never finished but his novel was. He began his first novel, A Conspiracy of Paper, while working on his doctoral dissertation on 18th century British literature and culture at Columbia University. These are the tantalizing topics that drive all three of David Liss' novels.

There's something much more dynamic and fluid and problematic about Jewish history and identity and Jewish identity is often like a sponge and a mirror in whatever moment it happens to exist.'Ĭonspiracies, caffeine, and corruption. there's something I've never quite understood about patriotism and what it is to love your country and what it is to love your land and the customs and traditions attached.

The coffee trader by david liss