The name of Sir Isaac Newton thunders across human history. Science and physics textbooks are riddled with his theories which give name and form to some of the most fundamental aspects of our universe. And so how it was that I knew nothing of the great man's second career as Britain's Master of The Mint bewilders me. But then, as Mr. Levenson argues, no one would have known about Mr. Newton's second life if it weren't for Newton's famous battle with William Chaloner.
A brazen and intelligent thief, William Chaloner was a forger of British coins which, it turns out, was a fairly popular profession in the late 17th century. Some accounts hold British coins of this period to be the most debased in the world. Enter Newton who, having not been financially compensated to his satisfaction for his theories of physics, sought out the post of Master Of The Mint as a means of securing his financial future. After revolutionizing the minting process, Newton set about prosecuting various counterfeiters, or coiners as they were called, until he came across William Chaloner who was, himself, a match for the brilliant mathematician.
And so we come to the setting of Mr. Levenson's wonderful book, the battle between Newton, the explainer of gravity, the great thinker, and William Chaloner, the thief and coiner, the man who professed his innocence so strenuously that he claimed to British authorities that he was merely perfecting the coining process as a means to help improve the protection of the British coin. And a battle it is too for we have never seen Newton so savage, so vicious, so bloodthirsty. But then you might be a bit savage when, after descending from your ivory tower of academia you're forced to wade through the filthy, mean streets of London's underground where the procurement of a fortune can only be achieved through means nefarious.
This is a delightful and fascinating read. (/5 Stars)
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