A Fortune in Minutes

By JANET GOLDFINCH

This book resurrects James Banks, 1661-1729, one of life's rarities who climbed an honest ladder to success.

The mid-17th century has been a fury of civil war, of animosities which tear families apart, of murderous religious dissension. Troubles invade even the Yorkshire hamlet where the boy, James Banks, is born. His father, who fought on the Cromwellian side, present owner of a stinking tannery, is as turbulent as his times. There is little peace here.

But in the wider world of towns such as Nottingham, where James and his elder brother William are apprenticed as watchmakers, new ways of thinking and innovative ideas are springing from the chaos. New sects, showing men new paths to follow, arise, take root or fail. In these more peaceful times, trade flourishes. To the men who engage in it, the precise measurement of time becomes important. And trade generates money, money that presents its own problem in the very bulk and portage of it. Nottingham, built on sandstone, with its honeycomb of caves, is an ideal spot. Banking is born.

James becomes prosperous. But what to do with all this wealth? Should he leave it to family in the accepted way? Or bequeath it elsewhere? If he does the latter, there will be consequences.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FDW1X3MG
• ISBN13: 9798281631709
• Release Date: June 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 254 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 8.0"