Mystery of Overend and Gurney : A Financial Scandal in Victorian London

by Elliott, Geoffrey

• ISBN13: 9780413775733
• ISBN10: 0413775739
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-06-01
• Publisher: Methuen Pub Ltd

Summary

"On Friday, 10 May 1866, Overend, Gurney and Co. Limited, the City of London's leading discount house - with a turnover second only to that of the Bank of England - closed its doors and suspended all payments, provoking a 'panic without parallel in the financial history of England'. Horrified shareholders learned that the bank had catastrophic debts which, calculated at today's values, would be equivalent to [pound]1 billion. There were massive repercussions and within three months of what quickly became known as 'Black Friday', more than two hundred other companies had collapsed." "The failure of Overend, Gurney and Co. Limited provoked sensational publicity and debates in parliament and culminated in a dramatic criminal trial. But why did the bank that was once dubbed 'the greatest instrument of credit in the kingdom' collapse so suddenly? It was controlled by members of the Gurney family, who were wealthy and respectable Quakers from East Anglia. Why did these men, whose religion warns against 'the deceitfulness of riches', display such Dickensian greed, offloading their depositors' money into increasingly foolish and desperate ventures?" "In this fast-moving account of an amazing story, Geoffrey Elliott evokes the City of London in the mid-Victorian period and populates it with a cast of true-life characters including the bird-watching banker John Henry Gurney; the wily share promoter Albert Grant; the vengeful Adam Thom; and the Greek novelist and reckless entrepreneur Stefanos Xenos, whose first-hand observations of events enrich the story. The result is an entertaining and intriguing portrait of a period in history and the most comprehensive account of a scandal that shook the Victorian financial world to its foundations."--BOOK JACKET.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. ix
Illustrations	p. x
Chronology	p. xii
Introduction	p. 1
History Repeats Itself	p. 9
Paper Promises	p. 14
Halcyon Days	p. 20
The Smoke, the Wealth, the Din	p. 31
Men Only	p. 39
'Not Slothful in Business'	p. 45
The House That Samuel Built	p. 61
A New Generation	p. 75
A Powerful Neighbour	p. 86
Levant Dreams	p. 96
When Greek Meets Greek	p. 101
'Those in Peril on the Sea'	p. 109
That Sinking Feeling	p. 118
Going to the Dogs	p. 127
The Baron	p. 138
Millwall's Last Hurrah	p. 144
East Enders	p. 147
Storm Cones	p. 151
A False Dawn	p. 158
Buyer, Beware!	p. 163
'Fictitious Capital'	p. 170
Shipwreck	p. 180
Truth and Consequences	p. 190
A Doctor Calls	p. 197
Facing the Lord Mayor	p. 201
A Case to Answer	p. 207
In the Dock	p. 212
'Guilty of Our Own Disasters'	p. 222
'Memories Are Made of This...'	p. 231
Postscript	p. 243
Notes	p. 245
Bibliography	p. 253
Index	p. 261
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