Trickle down theory

Not since the Edwardian heyday of John Galsworthy, Bernard Shaw and Harley Granville-Barker, have British writers rushed to tackle the mysteries of big money and its deep social impact. Now William Boyd and Sebastian Faulks have post-financial crisis novels to release next month, and there are others in the pipeline. Even Ian Rankin’s forthcoming thriller, The Complaints, has some sardonic nods in the direction of Edinburgh bankers and their woes. In the theatre, David Hare’s new play The Power of Yes takes on boom and slump in his signature docu-drama style. Even a banker, HSBC chairman Stephen Green, has just published a frank and thoughtful book, Good Value. It looks to history, literature and even scripture to assess the virtues and vices of modern globalized capitalism.

The Independent