The System of the World

Name: The System of the World
Rating: 4.36 (24730 reviews)

by Neal Stephenson Book 3 in the The Baroque Cycle series.

First published 2004

Amazon

4.4(24,730)

In 1714, Daniel Waterhouse returns to England and joins Isaac Newton in investigating attacks on natural philosophers and a counterfeiting operation that threatens the Royal Mint. Jack Shaftoe has returned as the elusive criminal at the centre of the case, placing his reunion with Eliza against Newton’s determination to impose order on England’s currency.

Queen Anne’s failing health creates a parallel struggle over whether the crown will pass to the Hanoverians or to the Stuart Pretender. Scientific rivalry, dynastic politics and financial crime converge as the trilogy’s characters attempt to shape the political and monetary system that will govern the new century.