Sea Change

by Robert Goddard

Book Overview

January, 1721. London is reeling from the effects of the greatest financial scandal of the age - the collapse of the South Sea Bubble. William Spandrel, a penniless mapmaker, is offered a discharge of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0552146021
• ISBN13: 9780552146029
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Corgi Books
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Perfect adventure story

Mr Goddard's novel begins in January 1721. Sir Theodore Janssen, once a financier of legendary acumen, stands on the brink of ruin after the bankruptcy of the South Sea Company. William Spandrel is also a financial victim of the commercial disaster of the South Sea Company, though on a smaller scale than Sir Theodore. Still, Spandrel owes Sir Theodore a fair amount of money. One day, Spandrel is summoned to go and see Sir Theodore. He offers Spandrel to pay back his debts by acting as his personal courier in a confidential transaction. Spandrel is to deliver a box to Mijnheer Ysbrand de Vried at his home in Amsterdam. As Spandrel departs from Deptford for Holvoetsluys on the "Vixen", he can't possibly foresee on what a roller coaster journey he has embarked. As always, Mr Goddard's novel provides first class entertainment with a very well documented historical adventure story. And Paul Shelly reading "Sea Change" is quite an experience to listen to!

For history buffs.

This is really one for the history buffs. In 1721 in the reign of George 1, the infamous South Sea Bubble scandal rocked England and some of Europe, proving that greed and corruption, in the form of speculative share market swindling, is not a new thing. A penniless map maker is drawn into a web of intrigue by reason of having his debts paid out and being forced to travel to Holland as the unwitting dupe of one of the main players in the South Sea Bubble scandal. He is falsely accused of murder and is forced to search for and to produce to his English masters, a green book, listing the names of VERY prominent people, from the King down to cabinet ministers, who were paid enormous bribes to take part in the hoax which robbed thousands of small investors, but made the rich men richer (sound familiar?) This book was very reminiscent of the works of Dennis Wheatley who wrote books involving the aristocracy, political intrigues, murder and travel through Europe.