View source for The Baroque Cycle

{{short description|Novel series by Neal Stephenson}}
{{redirect|Societas Eruditorum|the first learned society in the lands under control of Austrian Habsburgs|Societas eruditorum incognitorum in terris Austriacis}}
{{italic title}}
[[File:Neal Stephenson and Baroque Cycle characters.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Neal Stephenson]] ''(center)'' makes use of historical figures as characters in ''The Baroque Cycle'', such as ''(counterclockwise from upper left)'' [[Isaac Newton]], [[Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz|Leibniz]], [[Sophia of Hanover]] and [[William III of England|William of Orange]].]]

'''''The Baroque Cycle''''' is a series of novels by American writer [[Neal Stephenson]]. It was published in three volumes containing eight books in 2003 and 2004. The story follows the adventures of a sizable cast of characters living amidst some of the central events of the late 17th and early 18th centuries in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Central America.  Despite featuring a literary treatment consistent with historical fiction, Stephenson has characterized the work as [[science fiction]], because of the presence of some anomalous occurrences and the work's particular emphasis on themes relating to science and technology.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Godwin |first=Mike |author-link=Mike Godwin |author2=Neal Stephenson  |date=February 2005 |title=Neal Stephenson's Past, Present, and Future |url=https://reason.com/2005/02/01/neal-stephensons-pastpresent-a/ |magazine=[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]] |access-date=2020-09-15 |quote= Labels such as science fiction are most useful when employed for marketing purposes, i.e., to help readers find books that they are likely to enjoy reading. With that in mind, I'd say that people who know and love science fiction will recognize these books as coming out of that tradition. So the science fiction label is useful for them as a marketing term. However, non-S.F. readers are also reading and enjoying these books, and I seem to have a new crop of readers who aren't even aware that I am known as an S.F. writer. So it would be an error to be too strict or literal-minded about application of the science fiction label.}}</ref> The sciences of [[cryptology]] and [[numismatics]] feature heavily in the series, as they do in some of Stephenson's other works.

==Books==
The ''Baroque Cycle'' consists of several novels "lumped together into three volumes because it is more convenient from a publishing standpoint"; Stephenson felt calling the works a ''trilogy'' would be "bogus".<ref>Stephenson comment on MetaWeb</ref>

Appearing in print in [[2003 in literature|2003]] and [[2004 in literature|2004]], the cycle contains eight books originally published in three volumes:

* ''[[Quicksilver (novel)|Quicksilver]], Vol. I of the Baroque Cycle'' – [[Arthur C. Clarke Award]] '''winner''', [[Locus Award]] nominee, 2004<ref name="WWE-2004">{{cite web
| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2004
| title = 2004 Award Winners & Nominees
| work = Worlds Without End
| access-date=2009-07-21
}}</ref>
** Book 1 – Quicksilver
** Book 2 – King of the Vagabonds
** Book 3 – Odalisque
* ''[[The Confusion]], Vol. II of the Baroque Cycle'' – Locus Award '''winner'''
** Book 4 – Bonanza
** Book 5 – The Juncto
* ''[[The System of the World (novel)|The System of the World]], Vol. III of the Baroque Cycle'' – Locus Award '''winner''', Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 2005<ref name="WWE-2005">{{cite web
| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2005
| title = 2005 Award Winners & Nominees
| work = Worlds Without End
| access-date=2009-07-21
}}</ref>
** Book 6 – Solomon's Gold
** Book 7 – Currency
** Book 8 – The System of the World

==Setting==
The books travel throughout [[early modern Europe]] between the [[Stuart_Restoration|Restoration]] of the [[Stuart period|Stuart monarchy]] and the beginning of the 18th century. Though most of the focus is in Europe, the adventures of one character, Jack Shaftoe, do take him throughout the world, and the fledgling British colonies in North America are important to another (Daniel Waterhouse). ''Quicksilver'' takes place mainly in the years between the [[English Restoration|Restoration]] of the [[House of Stuart|Stuart]] monarchy in England (1660) and the [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1688. ''The Confusion'' follows ''Quicksilver'' without temporal interruption, but ranges geographically from Europe and the Mediterranean through [[India]] to the [[Philippines]], [[Japan]] and [[Mexico]]. ''The System of the World'' takes place principally in [[London]] in 1714, about ten years after the events of ''The Confusion''.

==Themes==
A central theme in the series is Europe's transformation away from feudal rule and control toward the rational, scientific, and more merit-based systems of government, finance, and social development that define what is now considered "western" and "modern".
 
Characters include Sir [[Isaac Newton]], [[Gottfried Leibniz]], [[Nicolas Fatio de Duillier]], [[William III of England|William of Orange]], [[Louis XIV of France]], [[Oliver Cromwell]], [[Peter the Great]], [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough]] and many other people of note of that time. The fictional characters of Eliza, Jack and Daniel collectively cause real historic effects.

The books feature considerable sections concerning [[alchemy]]. The principal alchemist of the tale is the mysterious Enoch Root, who, along with the descendants of several characters in this series, is also featured in the Stephenson novels ''[[Cryptonomicon]]'' and ''[[Fall;_or,_Dodge_in_Hell|Fall]]''.

Mercury provides a unifying theme, both in the form of the common name "quicksilver" for the element [[Mercury_(element)|Mercury]], long associated with alchemy and the title of the first volume of the cycle, and the Roman god [[Mercury_(mythology)|Mercury]], especially the god's various patronages: financial gain, commerce, eloquence, messages, communication, travelers, boundaries, luck, trickery, and thieves, all of which are central themes in the plot. Astronomy is also a significant (although secondary) theme in the cycle; a [[transit of Mercury]] was notably observed in London on day of the coronation of [[Charles_II_of_England|King Charles II of England]], whose Restoration marks, chronologically, the earliest key historical event in the cycle.

==Inspiration==
Stephenson was inspired to write ''The Baroque Cycle'' when, while working on ''[[Cryptonomicon]]'', he encountered a statement by [[George Dyson (science historian)|George Dyson]] in ''[[Darwin among the Machines#Evolution_of_Global_Intelligence|Darwin among the Machines]]'' that suggests Leibniz was "arguably the founder of [[Mathematical logic|symbolic logic]] and he worked with computing machines".<ref name = PSbegan>Stephenson, Neal. "How the Baroque Cycle Began" in P.S. of ''[[Quicksilver (novel)|Quicksilver]]'' Perennial ed. 2004.</ref> He also had heard considerable discussion of the [[Leibniz–Newton calculus controversy]] and Newton's work at the treasury during the last 30 years of his life,<ref name = PSbegan/> and in particular the case against Leibniz as summed up in the Commercium Epistolicum of 1712 was a huge inspiration which went on to inform the project. He found "this information striking when [he] was already working on a book about money and a book about computers".<ref name = PSbegan/> Further research into the period excited Stephenson and he embarked on writing the historical piece that became ''The Baroque Cycle''.<ref name = PSbegan/>

==Characters==
===Main characters===
*Daniel Waterhouse, an English [[natural philosophy|natural philosopher]] and [[English Dissenters|Dissenter]]
*[[Jack Shaftoe]], an illiterate adventurer of great resourcefulness and charisma
*Eliza, a girl abducted into slavery, and later freed, who becomes a spy and a [[financier]]
*Enoch Root, a mysterious and ageless man who also appears in ''[[Cryptonomicon]]'', set in [[World War II]] and the 1990s. He also appears in ''[[Fall; or, Dodge in Hell]]''.
*Bob Shaftoe, a soldier in the service of [[John Churchill]], and brother of Jack Shaftoe

===Minor characters===

{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
*Louis Anglesey, Earl of Upnor, best swordsman in England
*Thomas More Anglesey, Cavalier, Duke of Gunfleet
*Duc d'Arcachon, French admiral who dabbles in slavery
*Etienne d'Arcachon, son of the duke; most polite man in France
*Henri Arlanc, [[Huguenot]], friend of Jack Shaftoe.
*Henry Arlanc, Son of Henri Arlanc, porter of the [[Royal Society]]
*Mrs. Arlanc, wife of Henry
*Gomer Bolstrood, dissident agitator, future legendary furniture maker
*Clarke, English alchemist, boards young Isaac Newton
*Charles Comstock, son of John Comstock
*John Comstock, Earl of Epsom and Lord Chancellor
*Roger Comstock, Marquis of Ravenscar, Whig Patron of Daniel Waterhouse
*Will Comstock, Earl of Lostwithiel
*Moseh de la Cruz, galley slave, Spanish Jew
*Dappa, Nigerian linguist aboard ''Minerva''
*Vrej Esphanian, galley slave, Armenian Trader
*Mr. Foot, galley slave, erstwhile bar-owner from Dunkirk
*Édouard de Gex, Jesuit fanatic, court priest at Versailles
*Gabriel Goto, galley slave, Jesuit priest from Japan
*Lothar von Hacklheber, German banker obsessed with alchemy
*Thomas Ham, of Ham Bros Goldsmiths, half-brother-in-law of Daniel Waterhouse
*Otto van Hoek, galley slave, Captain of the ''Minerva''
{{Col-2}}
*Jeronimo, galley slave, a high-born [[Spain|Spaniard]] with [[Tourette's syndrome]]
*Mr. Kikin, Russian diplomat in London
*Nyazi, galley slave, camel-trader of the Upper Nile
*Norman Orney, London shipbuilder and Dissenter
*Danny Shaftoe, son of [[Jack Shaftoe]]
*Jimmy Shaftoe, son of Jack Shaftoe
*Mr. Sluys, Dutch merchant and traitor
*Mr. Threader, [[Tory]] money-scrivener
*Drake Waterhouse, Puritan father of Daniel Waterhouse
*Faith Waterhouse, wife of Daniel Waterhouse
*Godfrey Waterhouse, son of Daniel Waterhouse
*Mayflower Waterhouse, half-sister of Daniel Waterhouse, wife of Thomas Ham
*Raleigh Waterhouse, half-brother of Daniel Waterhouse
*Sterling Waterhouse, half-brother of Daniel Waterhouse
*Charles White, Tory, Captain of the King's Messengers, who has the habit of biting off people's ears
*Yevgeny the [[Raskolnik]], Russian heretic, whaler and anti-tsarist rebel
*Peter Hoxton (Saturn), horologist
*Colonel Barnes, peg-legged commander of dragoons
*Queen Kottakkal, sovereign of the [[Travancore|Malabar]] pirates
*Teague Partry, distant relative of the Shaftoes in Connaught, Ireland
{{col end}}

===Historical figures who appear as characters===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
*[[Jean Bart]]
*[[Catherine Barton]]
*[[Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke]]
*[[Robert Boyle]]
*[[Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk|Henrietta Braithwaite]], mistress of George II
*[[Caroline of Ansbach]]
*[[Charles II of England]]
*[[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough|John Churchill, later 1st Duke of Marlborough]]
*[[Sir William Curtius]], Baron Curtius of Sweden
*[[Charles de Batz-Castelmore, Comte d'Artagnan|D'Artagnan]]
*[[Nicolas Fatio de Duillier]]
*[[John Flamsteed]]
*[[Benjamin Franklin]] (as a young boy)
*[[Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach|Eleanor Erdmuthe Louise]], widow of [[Johann Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach|John Frederick]]
*[[Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate|Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatine]]
*[[George I of Great Britain]]
*[[George II of Great Britain]], the Prince of Wales
*[[Nell Gwyn]]
*[[George Frideric Handel]]
*[[Robert Hooke]]
*[[Christiaan Huygens]]
*[[James II of England|James Stuart]], Duke of York, then James VII and II
*[[George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys|George Jeffreys]]
*[[John George IV, Elector of Saxony|Johann Georg IV]], Elector of Saxony
{{col-2}}
*[[Arnold van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle|Arnold Joost van Keppel]]
*[[Jack Ketch]]
*[[Gottfried Leibniz]]
*[[Louis XIV of France]]
*[[Mary II of England]]
*[[Thomas Newcomen]]
*[[Isaac Newton]]
*[[Henry Oldenburg]]
*[[William Penn]]
*[[Samuel Pepys]]
*[[Peter I of Russia|Peter the Great]] traveling incognito as Peter Romanov
*[[Bonaventure Rossignol]], a French cryptanalyst
*[[James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth|James Scott, Duke of Monmouth]]
*[[John III Sobieski]], King of Poland
*[[Sophia of Hanover]]
*[[Sophia Charlotte of Hanover]]
*[[Blackbeard|Edward "Blackbeard" Teach]]
*[[Elizabeth Villiers]]
*[[John Wilkins]]
*[[William III of England]], Prince of Orange
*[[Christopher Wren]]
*[[John Locke]]
*[[John Keill]]
*[[Ignatius Sancho]]'s life as a freed slave in 18th century London, letters as an abolitionist, and life under the protection of a Duchess bear a strong similarity to the character of Dappa
{{col-end}}

==Critical response==
Robert Wiersem of ''[[The Toronto Star]]'' called ''The Baroque Cycle'' a "sublime, immersive, brain-throttlingly complex marvel of a novel that will keep scholars and critics occupied for the next 100 years".<ref>{{Cite news|newspaper=[[The Toronto Star]]| title=The Power of Three|date=2004-10-03|url=http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?start=39&sort=RELEVANCE&format=GNBFI&risb=21_T8978585453|access-date=2010-04-01}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.locusmag.com/2004/Issues/08Stephenson.html ''Locus Magazine'' interview with Neal Stephenson]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070223001851/http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=100703A The Source of the Modern World] interview by [[Glenn Reynolds]] at [[Tech Central Station]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110603231917/https://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/973recrz.asp Back to the Baroque] review by Reynolds in ''[[The Weekly Standard]]''
*[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2004/nov/04/onlinesupplement "Neal Stephenson – the interview" on Guardian Unlimited], regarding ''The Baroque Cycle''

{{Neal Stephenson}}
{{Locus Award Best SF Novel}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baroque Cycle}}
[[Category:The Baroque Cycle| ]]
[[Category:Book series introduced in 2003]]
[[Category:Historical novels by series]]
[[Category:Novels by Neal Stephenson]]
[[Category:American picaresque novels]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Benjamin Franklin]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Blackbeard]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Isaac Newton]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Charles II of England]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of George I of Great Britain]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of George II of Great Britain]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Nell Gwyn]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of George Frideric Handel]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of James II of England]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Louis XIV]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Mary II]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Peter the Great]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of William III of England]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth]]