The man who invented capitalism.Born to the merchant class, Jacques Coeur, after a brilliant career as a trader, was summoned to the court of Charles VII and appointed Master of the Mint in 1436. From this position he rose to become the King of France’s visionary First Banker who, with his tours of the Far East, his criticism of the Crusades, and his efforts to develop trade, contributed to bringing France out of darkness toward the Renaissance and modernity. Coeur was, at one time, the wealthiest man in France, but at the height of his success, disgrace and imprisonment at the hands of his enemies threatened. His ill-considered infatuation with Agnes Sorel, King Charles VII’s favorite mistress, precipitated Coeur’s fall from grace. In Rufin’s delicious prose this remarkable true story becomes a gripping tale of adventure, a novel of ideas, and a moving love story.