The true story of a Scottish murderer, philanderer, gambler and abscondee who escaped his condemned cell in London to become the darling of the French economy, The Life of John Law contains first-hand accounts of the euphoria and wealth Law created by engineering the first stock market boom, and the despair, poverty and destroyed lives that followed its inevitable crash. First published in 1824 as Memoirs Of The Life Of John Law Of Lauriston: Including A Detailed Account Of The Rise, Progress And Termination Of The Mississippi System, John Philip Wood¿s The Life of John Law is an enduring account of the spectacular rise and fall of the most enigmatic genius in financial and economic history.