Quicksilver

Volume One of the Baroque Cycle

Set chiefly in late seventeenth-century Europe, Quicksilver follows Daniel Waterhouse, an English Puritan involved in the emerging world of experimental science. Parallel narratives follow the wanderer Jack Shaftoe and Eliza, a former captive who enters European court politics and finance. Their stories connect scientific inquiry, religious conflict, commerce, and political power. Historical figures including Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz appear alongside the fictional characters.

by Neal Stephenson

Perennial · First published 2003 · 927 pages