There is a certain perversity about the subject of this book. It examines business bankruptcy and risk-taking in eighteenth-century England, traditionally a period when businessmen are looked at in terms of success and achievement. The germs of this perspective were planted while I was an undergraduate at Selwyn College, Cambridge. They flourished there for some years before reaching maturity and fruition first at Pembroke College and then at Magdalene College, Cambridge. I am grateful for the support and friendship provided by these homes.

Like the subjects of this book I am a bankrupt. My debts outweigh my assets. I have been very lucky to come under the care of three great teachers. John Morrill taught me what commitment to and empathy with the past means – and still gives me refresher courses from time to time. Richard Overy awakened and helped sustain my enthusiasm for English social and economic history. Finally and most significantly, Donald Coleman supervised the thesis which this book rests on. Without his care and attention, his promptings and criticisms, this book would have been much poorer. Somewhere he found the stamina to read complete drafts of both the book and the thesis. What he had to say will never be forgotten.

Joanna Innes read a draft of this book with typical speed and thoroughness. More than that, since my first year of research she, more than anyone, has made me think carefully and precisely about ‘the eighteenth century’. Andrew Hoppit, Robert Jones, Leslie Pressnell and David Souden all helped at important points. My final debt, to Karin Horowitz, will never be repaid. Indeed, it will grow and grow.