Superficially, this site looks like a set of FAQs about a novel that I wrote entitled Quicksilver. As time goes on, we hope that it will develop into something a little more than that. We don’t know how it will come out. It’s an experiment.
Why put the information on such a complicated system, when a simple FAQ is easier? Because we are hoping that the annotations of the book on this site will seed a body of knowledge called the Metaweb, which will eventually be something more generally useful than a list of FAQs about one and only one novel. The idea of the Metaweb was originated byDanny Hillis.
My own view of the Metaweb is pretty straightforward: I don’t think that the Internet, as it currently exists, does a very good job of explaining things to people. It is great for selling stuff, distributing news and dirty pictures, and a few other things. But when you need to get a good explanation of something, whether it is a scientific principle, a bit of gardening advice, or how to change a tire, you have to sift through a vast number of pages to find the one that gives you the explanation that is right for you.
Generally this is not a problem with the explanations themselves. On the contrary, it seems as though a lot of people like to explain things on the Internet, and some of them are quite good at it. The problem lies in how these explanations are organized.
We have been looking for a way to get an explanation system seeded for a long time, and it occurred to us that a set of annotations to my book might be one way to get it started. At first, the explanations here will be strongly tied to characters and situations in Quicksilver and so may be of only limited interest to those who have not read the book. However, with a few clicks we might move on to more general explanations. For example,Robert Hooke andRobert Boyle appear as characters in Quicksilver, and so early on we might see annotations concerning specific things that they are shown doing in the book. But later these might link to explanations ofBoyle’s Law. Such an explanation need not refer to Quicksilver in any way, and so it could be useful to, say, a high school student who has never heard of me or my book but who needs to understand Boyle’s Law and why it is important.
What it boils down to is this: if you have come here hoping to get an explanation of something that puzzles you about Quicksilver, then this site should serve that purpose. If you don’t find an existing annotation that answers your question, you can request that I or someone else write one and post it.
Along the way, as you browse the site, you may stumble over a lot of information that seems to have nothing to do with the novel. This material has probably been put there by contributors who have decided to post explanations of things that they care and know about. Feel free to ignore, browse, or contribute to any of it as the spirit moves you.
-Neal Stephenson, 2003
http://www.metaweb.com/wiki/wiki.phtml?title=Stephenson:Neal:Quicksilver:List_of_people
This is a list of the dramatis personae in Quicksilver who have entries in the Metaweb. As this list grows, we may group people by family, region, religion, language, title or noble status, or other methods.
Jack Shaftoe
Eliza
Daniel Waterhouse
Enoch Root
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz
Isaac Newton
Spinoza
Thomas More Anglesey
Robert Hooke
John Wilkins
Nicolas Fatio de Duillier
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
Aristocrats and Politicians
James I of England
Oliver Cromwell
Charles I of England
Charles II
James II of England
Monmouth
William of Orange
Queen Anne
George I of Great Britain
Princess Caroline
King George II of Great Britain
Louis Anglesey, Earl of Upnor
Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendome
(duchesse d’)Oyonnax
(Comte) d’Avaux
(Duc) d’Arcachon
Etienne d’Arcachon
Edouard de Gex
Bonaventure Rossignol
King Phillip the V of Spain
Gomer Bolstrood
Knott Bolstrood
John Comstock
Roger Comstock
Foot
Sluys
Yevgeny (the Raskolnik)
People mentioned only a few times with only a tiny part in the narrative.
Arlanc
Elias Ashmole
(comte de) Beziers
Beatrice Beziers
Louis Beziers
Mary Dolores
Jack Ketch
(marquise d’)Ozoir
Danny Shaftoe
Jimmy Shaftoe
Mother Shaftoe
· List of notable Baroque figures
NEALSTEPHENSONissueth from a Clan of yeomen, itinerant Parsons, ingenieurs, and Natural Philosophers that hath long dwelt in bucolick marches and rural Shires of his native Land, and trod the Corridors of her ’Varsities. At a young age, finding himself in a pretty Humour for the writing of Romances, and discourse of Natural Philosophy and Technologick Arts, he took up the Pen, and hath not since laid it down.
Quicksilver:Critical Acclaimfor
Volume One of the Baroque Cycle
TIME:“Genius. (That’s right, I’m using the g-word.)… You’ll wish it were longer.”
Entertainment Weekly:“[A] warm, loamy novel of ideas, adventure, science and politics… The great trick of Quicksilver is that it makes you ponder concepts and theories you initially think you’ll never understand, and it’s greatest pleasure is that Stephenson is such an enthralling explainer… Stephenson’s new machine is a wonderment to behold. A-”
Wired:“Neal Stephenson rewrites history - for the dark prince of hacker fiction, looking backward is another way of seeing the future.”
Seattle Times:“Because of his subject matter, Stephenson won’t lose his usual science-lovers. He’ll pick up some history buffs as well, and his quirky characters, zestful pace, and wryly humorous tone will charm almost everyone else… Stephenson’s aim is more than an entertaining account of remarkable personalities. Quicksilver’s panoramic view encompasses the bitter religious and political struggles which gave rise to the scientific way of thought. [Quicksilveris] a sprawling, engrossing tale.”
Men’s Journal:“ Quicksilver… tosses its three main characters into the bubbling cauldron of science and intrigue that Stephenson, like a mad alchemist, has cooked up in his lab… [A] swashbuckling pirate battle, for example, dares any reader to put down the novel and gives Quicksilver… the decadent pacing of a beach thriller.”