<p><em>Quicksilver</em> is the story of Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and conflicted Puritan, pursuing knowledge in the company of the greatest minds of Baroque-era Europe, in a chaotic world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty, and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the political landscape overnight.</p> <p>It is a chronicle of the breathtaking exploits of "Half-Cocked Jack" Shaftoe -- London street urchin turned swashbuckling adventurer and legendary King of the Vagabonds -- risking life and limb for fortune and love while slowly maddening from the pox.</p> <p>And it is the tale of Eliza, rescued by Jack from a Turkish harem to become spy, confidante, and pawn of royals in order to reinvent Europe through the newborn power of finance.</p> <p>A gloriously rich, entertaining, and endlessly inventive novel that brings a remarkable age and its momentous events to vivid life, <em>Quicksilver</em> is an extraordinary achievement from one of the most original and important literary talents of our time.</p> <p>And it's just the beginning ...</p>