The Road to Ruin

Money can be so easy to lose and once it has gone the creditors can soon be lining up at our doors. It is, at the very least, comforting to know that should we encounter bankruptcy we will be in pretty good company. Patrick Hartigan's The Road to Ruin takes an entertaining look at some of history's more notable bankrupts. Some names in the list may be a surprise: Rembrandt, Defoe, Beau Brummel, Walt Disney ...so what brought these ostensibly rich and successful people to ruin? And how, if they managed it, did they succeed in digging themselves out? In stories of love, talent, arrogance, vanity and murder The Road to Ruin shows there is no template for a bankrupt, it just takes a certain mindset, the right conditions and down we go. But always remember, the rich have rich friends, the poor have the bailiffs.