The Coffee Trader
First edition cover
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| Author | David Liss |
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| Cover artist | View Down a Corridor, by Hoogstraten |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Published | 2003 (Random House) |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 394pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 49531074 |
The Coffee Trader is a historical novel by David Liss, set in 17th century Amsterdam. The story revolves around the activities of commodity trader Miguel Lienzo, a Jew who is a refugee from the Portuguese Inquisition. Recovering from near financial ruin, he embarks on a coffee trading scheme with a Dutch woman; kept secret because it is forbidden by his community council. The scheme involves coffee, a new import to Europe. Miguel navigates the social structures of the Amsterdam business world, the politics of the council, and the plots of competitors.
The character of Miguel Lienzo is the grandfather of Benjamin Weaver, the protagonist of Liss's first novel, A Conspiracy of Paper. This novel is set about sixty years earlier, but is not a prequel.
Miguel Lienzo is in financial trouble as a result of some trades in sugar that have gone disastrously wrong. He is being pursued by his creditors and is looking for a way out of his current problems. Fortunately for him, one of his friends, a Dutch widow called Geertruid, arranges a meeting, at which her right-hand man Hendrick is present, and tells him about a new commodity that she believes is about to take off – coffee. Miguel knows very little about it so she gives him a cup to drink and, after an initial reaction of distaste, Miguel actually starts to like it. Geertruid gives him some beans for his own personal use and he takes to grinding them and then mixing the powder with wine until he tastes the superior drink of coffee mixed with hot water.
He is currently living with his younger brother Daniel and his young wife, Hannah, who is pregnant. There is a rivalry between the two brothers, enhanced by Miguel's current difficulties, and he is living in the cellar of the house made continually damp from the floods. Hannah is a Catholic who was only informed of her Jewish origins on the day of her marriage. She is unhappy with her marital situation and her domestic affairs are made worse by her pretty Dutch maid, Annetje, who has a powerful hold over her as a result of secrets revealed to her by Hannah during the early stages of a friendship that has now soured. Hannah feels sympathy for Miguel's plight but is powerless to do anything as a formal distance has to be maintained with her more attractive and characterful brother-in-law.
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