Thomas Violet, a Sly and Dangerous Fellow

Silver and Spying in Civil War London

By (author) Amos Tubb

Publication date:

06 October 2017

Length of book:

178 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442275058

Thomas Violet, a Sly and Dangerous Fellow chronicles the life and adventures of Thomas Violet, an Englishman who lived from 1609 to 1662. During the course of his tumultuous life, Violet was a goldsmith, a spy, a prisoner of war during the English Civil War, a traitor to both sides, a major economic theorist, an anti-Semite who nearly drove the Jews of England out of the country, and a suicide. Violet’s life consisted of one unbelievable escapade after another. He was a scoundrel who used his knowledge of the financial markets of his day to legally extort money out of people in scheme after scheme for nearly thirty years. Along the way, he was caught up in the English Civil War and interacted with many of the major players—he knew and worked for King Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, and King Charles II. In desperate times, both King Charles I and Oliver Cromwell were willing to use the unsavory Violet to help solve the financial crisis both men faced as rulers of England. Violet’s knowledge of the silver trade, in particular, would bring untold riches to Oliver Cromwell. However, Charles II had no need of Violet, and, when Violet could not convince Charles II to extort money from England’s Jews, Violet committed suicide rather than face the world without a royal patron. Readers will be fascinated—and outraged—by Violet’s actions.

Acknowledgments
Maps
Author’s Note
Introduction
Chapter 1: Goldsmith
Chapter 2: Spy
Chapter 3: Royalist
Chapter 4: Economist
Chapter 5: Trappaner
Chapter 6: Republican
Chapter 7: Anti-Semite
Chapter 8: Roman
Conclusion
Bibliography

The fascinating story of Thomas Violet intersects with some of the most tumultuous and influential events in English history. Through the lens of Violet’s unsavory escapades, we encounter a wide variety of issues, from London’s social structures and religious conflicts to economic affairs, monopolies, and arguments for free trade. Tubb’s masterful account of Violet’s life draws from primary sources as well as current scholarship, giving readers an absorbing view into the life, politics, and history of seventeenth-century England.