Thu, 03 Jul 2008
Stephenson, Quicksilver
Historical fiction for science fiction readers.
Quicksilver, together with the two equally-long volumes that follow it, The confusion and The system of the world, together comprise Stephenson's Baroque Cycle.
Together they form an historical epic set in the period 1660 to 1714, from the 'restoration' of Charles II to the arrival of George I from Hanover.
The cycle is based on invented characters, but surrounded by 'real' characters such as Isaac Newton and Louis XIV. Perhaps there is too great a reliance on the 'real' characters — a characteristic of bad historical novelists is to drag in historical personages as puppets, and the example of Patrick O'Brian should be followed here.
Stephenson's themes are the development of science and the economy during this period, and two of his main characters typify these themes, Daniel Waterhouse the ex-puritan Royal Society functionary and Eliza de Zour the financier and courtier. His other main character is Jack Shaftoe, the 'King of the Vagabonds', who represents the picaresque element.
Stephenson, Neal. Quicksilver. 2003, Arrow, London. paperback. 927 pages.
ISBN 0-099-41068.
