Crypto, Bitcoin, Blockchain . . . today’s hi tech currency is a mystery to most of us, and rumors abound about the possibilities of financial skullduggery. But worries about the money supply are nothing new—as I discovered when I began researching my latest Wrexford & Sloane historical mystery, Murder on Threadneedle Street, which releases tomorrow! (You can read an excerpt and order a copy here.)
It’s often said that money is the root of all evil—and counterfeiting has been around so long that it’s often called the world’s second-oldest profession. Regency England (historians broadly define the Regency as the years 1800-1837, when Queen Victoria came to the throne) was particularly susceptible to forgers in the early1800s, and many of the reasons mirror the same issues we’re facing in our own fraught times.
I love history and diving down the research rabbit holes that lead to the more obscure—and interesting—aspects of an era is because those elements often reveal more about society’s hopes and fears than the standard narratives. And so, what really fascinates me about Regency England is that technology and scientific discoveries were happening with dizzying speed—and the changes that these innovations created were disrupting society in so many ways. The Industrial Revolution was kicking into high gear. Steam engines were mechanizing mining, weaving, and manufacturing. Inventors were patenting marvelous new inventions like precision lathes and other mechanical wonders that did things faster and better than humans. (Sound familiar?) Workers, craftsmen and cottage industries were losing their jobs to these new innovations and like many of us, they were terrified and confused by this brave new world.