Cash money is so common that it’s hard to imagine a time when it was something new. Today, money is (for me anyway) numbers in an online account that move around as I pay bills and get paid. I hardly ever carry cash anymore. I use a card to get what I like. So when I read the beginning of Golden Hill, by Francis Spufford, I suddenly realized just how weird it is. Richard Smith arrives in New-York in the winter of 1746 with a bill for £1,000 in his hand. This bill entitles him to that amount from Mr. Lovell because Smith paid that amount to his partner in London. Mr. Lovell has his doubts about the authenticity of that paper, so a letter has to go back across the Atlantic and further proofs have to come back before Smith gets his money.
It doesn’t help Smith that he’s very cagey about his purpose in New-York, or that he cleans Mr. Lovell out of all his ready currency when he asks the merchant to change his four guineas into spending money. I was fascinated by the details of changing English money into colonial coin and paper money. This is all after the business of the £1,000 bill. Today it takes a card and a PIN to get your money (and maybe a little fee if you’re using an out-of-network ATM). Then, it was all personal relationships and a lot of faith that putting money into someone else’s hand meant that you could get it back later on.
Money in 1746 isn’t the only topic that this novel delves into. Smith’s adventures in old, old, old New-York take him into all kinds of interesting situations: piquet with a judge who thinks he’s a spy, Sinterklaas and Guy Fawkes Night festivities, a performance of a Joseph Addison play, a duel, and much more. There are times in this picaresque when it seems like Smith can’t take a breath without falling into another mishap. And this is all without talking about his attraction to the most contrary girl I’ve ever seen in fiction. Smith spars with her in between blows from Fate and Luck. And then, there’s his mysterious purpose in London and what the £1,000 is for.
I enjoyed every page of Golden Hill. It was perfect reading after so many depressing and artfully written European novels. It was funny, with hidden emotional depths that made the ending incredibly poignant. It’s crammed with adventure and rich historical detail. The hype I saw for this book was absolutely justified. It’s brilliant.