Overview

From historian Charles Royster--winner of the Francis Parkman, Bancroft, and Lincoln prizes--comes the history of one of eighteenth-century America's most fantastic land speculation deals- William Byrd's scheme to develop 900 square miles of swamp on the Virginia-North Carolina border and create fabulous wealth for himself and other shareholders, including George Washington. Royster scrupulously follows the paper trail through the byways of transatlantic deal-cutting, providing a rare view of early American economic culture.Elegantly written and impressively researched, The Fabulous History of the Dismal Swamp Company is an eye-opening account of greed, folly, and venture capitalism in the revolutionary era.

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9780679753056

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Here is a narrative history of scope and of abundance, a fascinating story. -- The Washington Times <br> Vivid. . . . plunges readers into the rough world of colonial capitalism--a world swarming with adventurers, aristocrats, fools, rogues and visionaries all wearing masks of gentility. -- The News & Observer (Raleigh) <br> A veritable encyclopedia of early American get-rich-quick schemes. -- Men's Journal <br> [Royster] is a seasoned stylist, and tells this colorful story in rich detail. -- The Washington Post <br> Imagine Barbarians at the Gate with lace cuffs. --Wilton Barnhardt

Here is a narrative history of scope and of abundance, a fascinating story. --The Washington Times Vivid. . . . plunges readers into the rough world of colonial capitalism--a world swarming with adventurers, aristocrats, fools, rogues and visionaries all wearing masks of gentility. --The News & Observer (Raleigh) A veritable encyclopedia of early American get-rich-quick schemes. --Men's Journal [Royster] is a seasoned stylist, and tells this colorful story in rich detail. --The Washington Post Imagine Barbarians at the Gate with lace cuffs. --Wilton Barnhardt

Here is a narrative history of scope and of abundance, a fascinating story. --<i>The Washington Times</i> Vivid. . . . plunges readers into the rough world of colonial capitalism--a world swarming with adventurers, aristocrats, fools, rogues and visionaries all wearing masks of gentility. --<i>The News & Observer</i> (Raleigh) A veritable encyclopedia of early American get-rich-quick schemes. --<i>Men's Journal</i> [Royster] is a seasoned stylist, and tells this colorful story in rich detail. --<i>The Washington Post</i> Imagine <b>Barbarians at the Gate</b> with lace cuffs. --Wilton Barnhardt

Here is a narrative history of scope and of abundance, a fascinating story. -- The Washington Times <br><br> Vivid. . . . plunges readers into the rough world of colonial capitalism--a world swarming with adventurers, aristocrats, fools, rogues and visionaries all wearing masks of gentility. -- The News & Observer (Raleigh)<br><br> A veritable encyclopedia of early American get-rich-quick schemes. -- Men's Journal <br><br> [Royster] is a seasoned stylist, and tells this colorful story in rich detail. -- The Washington Post <br><br> Imagine Barbarians at the Gate with lace cuffs. --Wilton Barnhardt

Author Information

CHARLES ROYSTERis Boyd Professor of History at Louisiana State University. His previous books includeA Revolutionary People at War- The Continental Army and American Character, 1775-1783,which won the Francis Parkman Prize, andThe Destructive War- William Tecumseh Sherman, Stonewall Jackson, and the Americans,which won a Bancroft Prize and the Lincoln Prize.

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