Warner Bros. Options Film Rights to A Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss

Variety is reporting that Warner Bros. has optioned the film rights to A Conspiracy of Paper, the first book in the Benjamin Weaver mystery series by David Liss. Ridley Scott and Tony Scott will produce a screenplay adaptation by Danny Strong.

A Conspiracy of Paper was the winner of several prestigious awards in 2001, including the Edgar Award for Best First Novel, the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel, and the Barry Award for Best First Novel.

The book introduces Benjamin Weaver, a Jew and an ex-boxer, and an outsider in eighteenth-century London, tracking down debtors and felons for aristocratic clients. The son of a wealthy stock trader, he lives estranged from his family -- until he is asked to investigate his father's sudden death. Thus Weaver descends into the deceptive world of the English stock jobbers, gliding between coffee houses and gaming houses, drawing rooms and bordellos. The more Weaver uncovers, the darker the truth becomes, until he realizes that he is following too closely in his father's footsteps -- and they just might lead him to his own grave.