The Rothschild Conversion by Buckman, Peter

Light shelfwear to edges and boards. DJ protected with mylar. Pages tight and clean. Library discard with usual marks and attachments. Pocket removed. Book appears unread. 286 pages. HardCover Binding. Year: 1979. ISBN: 0070087954. Paris of 1848, fraught with riot, revolution, and corruption on all levels, gave rise to one of the greatest thefts of the nineteenth century: the embezzlement of 30 million francs from Baron James de Rothschild by his keen-witted prot?g?, Michael Carpentier, who subsequently disappeared. In this sparkling novel, the author reconstructs the embezzlement and all that follows, narrating as though it were Carpentier's own account of the coup. He successfully conjures the atmosphere of the period with flawless wit and cynicism, combining the tension of a thriller with humorous, ironic commentary on the attitudes of an era not so unlike our own.