Really enjoyed this book!the central plot revolves around banks, loans and trading, all of which have zero interest to me. Nonetheless, the writer did a great job explaining things and an even better job with the characters. I loved the alternating chapters, building sympathy and interest in wrongly accused former spy Ethan Saunders and brilliant widow Joan maycott. The author creates a conflict in which the reader finds themselves rooting for both sides of the conflict. The honorable characters like Leonaidas and Lavigne contrast well with those like sure and Pearson, motivated solely by their selfish greed ( )

Siglo XVIII. Un insólito ex capitán del ejército y la intrépida mujer que lidera a los destiladores de whisky ponen en jaque el nacimiento del Banco de Estados Unidos, la primera piedra angular del país.

This is NOT a novel about the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 in the new American Republic, but is about some of the circumstances that led to it. Mostly, it's a tale of two personal obsessions: one entangled with the "whiskey boys" seeking revenge and destruction of a new bank challenging Hamilton's hobby horse Bank of The United States, and the other a quest to save the life and honor of a lost love. Both involved complicated financial scheming that I never completely understood, as well as some rollicking adventures. Both also involved very well drawn characters, whose vitality on the page kept me reading through the slightly sloggy bits. Joan Maycott and her husband were swindled by a man named Duer (a historical figure who did exist). After her husband's death, Joan made it her business to bring Duer down, by whatever means were at hand. Captain Ethan Saunders lost his reputation, his best friend and his lady love to the underhanded actions of Jacob Pearson, an associate of Duer's, so he set out to put things right by bringing them both to ruin without harming Pearson's wife (the aforesaid lady love) or children. It's all very tricky and convoluted, and I cannot say I followed it at every turn. It was also about 200 pages longer than it needed to be. But I felt invested in both story lines, which eventually intersected in a way I did not see coming. As historical fiction, it did shed some light on undercurrents that could easily have crippled this country before it got its legs solidly under it. We have not moved terribly far away from the sort of philosophical conflicts that plagued the founding fathers and mothers. ( )

This isn't about the Whiskey Rebellion but centers around the financial Panic of 1792. The story's told from the alternating points of view of fictitious characters Captain Ethan Saunders and Joan Maycott, but the plot includes actual historical figures, including Alexander Hamilton, William Duer, and Aaron Burr.

Several of the characters are larger than life and too often didn't seem to behave appropriately given the context of the times, which made it difficult to maintain my suspension of disbelief. Leonidas (a slave), Maycott (a female) and Lactilla/Ruth (a female slave) seem much too cocky and confident for people in their positions in the 18th century, which is not to say that I didn't like them, just that I found them difficult to believe in. Though I initially started off rooting for her, I eventually found myself skimming over the chapters narrated by Maycott because I just didn't buy her character and consequently lost interest. I regained interest in her toward the novel's end, but I was no longer cheering for her--just curious to see how her destiny affected Saunders' and how things would eventually conclude.

On a positive note, however, author David Liss has an enviable vocabulary, and I'm glad he never talks down to the reader. I also appreciate the tremendous amount of research and preparation that must have gone into writing this novel. Furthermore, Captain Saunders is a very likable rogue with a keen wit, and he proffers more than a few one-liners and insights into human nature that put me in mind of Oscar Wilde. Overall, I enjoyed the novel and learned something about a volatile time in American history. Oh, but that we would learn from past mistakes. ( )

I really dislike historical fiction when done poorly. Which is why this is such a treat. Ethan Saunders is a very human character--flawed, cunning, witty and resourceful, and often funny. His voice carries the novel. Joan Maycott's character is also compelling, although a bit less so than Ethan's. Perhaps it's her eventual turn to bringing down Hamilton at all costs, including ruining the country. The late 18th-century financial world gets a bit confusing at times, but it is also quite timely considering the parallels a reader could draw between today's financial crises and those of the 1790s.

In any event, a solid story, excellent narrators, great pacing and well written. ( )