About the Author

James Buchan is the author of several novels, including A Parish of Rich Women, which won the 1984 Whitbread Book of the Year award, and Heart's Journey in Winter which won the Guardian prize. He is also an outstanding literary critic and non-fiction writer whose works include a biography of Adam Smith, Frozen Desire: An Enquiry into the Meaning of Money and Captial of the Mind.

Reviews

An utterly compelling and captivating work . . . he brings a natural storyteller's relish to his subject - Guardian, on The Capital of the Mind.Mr Buchan has a clear writing style, a light touch and a irreverent sense of humour . . . he makes difficult subjects accessible and, sometimes, poetic. - Economist.In Mr. Buchan's able hands, Smith and his words come across as they should, in all their lucidity and elegance. - New York Times, on Adam Smith: and the Pursuit of Perfect Liberty.James Buchan's elegant prose sparkles on the page. - New Statesman.One of our finest writers. - The Times.I don't believe this country has a better writer to offer than James Buchan. - London Review of Books.Each book he writes is a discovery. - Guardian.A wonderful portrait of Law's Paris and Europe, of the Regent and the Jacobites. I loved it and could hardly put it down.