David Ricardo: A Biography

This book started with the thought that here was an interesting man who lived at an interesting time. He was born a Jew, he made his fortune as a financier, he discovered his vocation as an econo­ mist, he entered Parliament. Such in outline was the life of David Ricardo. He was born in 1772 and he died in 1823. It was a time of war and the aftermath of war, of change and of resistance to change. As far as possible I have tried always to see him in the context of his time. Though much necessarily is said about the economist in the book, I must make plain that it is not primarily a study of his work. That has been done elsewhere, and some references will be found in the bibliography. In the arrangement of the book I have departed occasionally from a strictly chronological narrative. Instead I have attempted to present the life of David Ricardo in a number of facets, as if it were a diamond. Perhaps the cutting edge of the diamond would be most applic­ able to him. Nearly everyone who met him noticed the clarity and lucidity of his mind. To demonstrate or illustrate the quality of his mind is therefore the first object of the book. I have been very fortunate in the help I have received in the research and the writing; and certainly, for any faults in the book, nobody but myself is to blame.