Gresham's Law: The Life and World of Queen Elizabeth I's Banker

Description

Thomas Gresham was arguably the first true wizard of global finance. He rose through the mercantile worlds of London and Antwerp to become the hidden power behind three out of the five Tudor monarchs. Today his name is remembered in economic doctrines, in the institutions he founded and in the City of London's position at the economic centre of the earth. Without Gresham, England truly might have become a vassal state. His manoeuvring released Elizabeth from a crushing burden of debt and allowed for vital military preparations during the wars of religion that set Europe ablaze. Yet his deepest loyalties have remained enigmatic, until now. Drawing on vast new research and several startling discoveries, the great Tudor historian John Guy recreates Gresham's life and singular personality with astonishing intimacy. He reveals a calculating survivor, flexible enough to do business with merchants and potentates no matter their religious or ideological convictions. Yet his personal relationships were disturbingly transactional. SHe was a figure of cold unsentimentality even to members of his own family. Elizabeth I found herself at odds with Gresham's ambitions. In their collisions and wary accommodations, we see our own conflicts between national sovereignty and global capital foreshadowed. A story of adventure and jeopardy, greed and cunning, loyalties divided, mistaken or betrayed, this is a biography fit for a merchant prince.

John Guy is a Fellow of Clare College, University of Cambridge, and also teaches on the Yale in London programme at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. He has held academic positions in Britain and the United States throughout his career, specializing mainly in the Tudor period. He is recognised as one of Britain's most exciting historical biographers, has written several bestselling books, and is a regular presenter of both TV and Radio programs for the BBC.

Guy's handling of this story offers an often vivid picture of the private world in which Gresham moved. -- Matthew Adams * The Observer * 'Certain to be a bestseller, and deservedly so. Rarely have first-class scholarship and first-class storytelling been so effectively combined.' -- John Adamson * Daily Telegraph * a serious, but entertaining study built on exceptional scholarship ... a riveting account of the life and legacy of a significant figure -- Iain Martin * the Times * [Shows] that Tudor kings and queens were nothing without their bankers. -- Jerry Brotton * FT * [Guy] is an expert guide ... [through] Gresham's personal archives -- Tim Smith Laing * Telegraph * Praise for My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots: Fascinating... A book based on gold-standard research, the kind of thing that puts most popular history writing to shame. -- Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday * An absorbing biography ... meticulously researched... scholarly and intriguing. -- Peter Ackroyd * The Times *