Book 6: Chapter 1 Summary

Dartmoor, Jan. 15, 1714

Dr. Daniel Waterhouse, chancellor of the Massachusetts Colony Institute of Technical Studies and Art, has returned to London from Boston at the request of Princesses Caroline, heir to the English throne should Hanoverian succession overrule the French.

Daniel is met by Thomas Newcomen, a Dartmouth blacksmith and inventor and Will Comstock, the Earl of Lostwihiel. After discussing political issues and the fate of mining, Will and Thomas persuade the doctor to take a detour on the way to London.

Book 6: Chapter 1 Analysis

Stephenson introduces his main character Daniel Waterhouse, who meets Will Comstock and Thomas Newcomen upon arrival to England. As they chat casually, the reader begins to understand the circumstances that surround England. With Queen Anne's demise inevitable, Daniel and Will discuss loyalty, the royal succession and the influence of the Tories in the House of Lords. The...