This book investigates how nineteenth-century novelists navigated and represented the rapidly evolving landscape of Victorian commerce and financial capitalism. Norman Russell, an expert in Victorian literature, utilizes a combination of historical economic records and canonical literary texts to argue that the portrayal of business in fiction was deeply informed by the actual, often volatile, commercial realities of the era. By contrasting the fictional depictions of stockbrokers and merchants with historical evidence, the author provides a framework for understanding the intersection of creative writing and the rise of modern capitalism.

Scholars and literary historians frequently cite this work for its detailed synthesis of economic history and Victorian narrative analysis. It is regarded as a useful resource for those seeking to understand the material conditions that shaped the thematic concerns of nineteenth-century novelists.