Dark Matter: The Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton: A Novel

By Philip Kerr

I swore not to tell this story while Newton was still alive.

1696, young Christopher Ellis is sent to the Tower of London, but not as a prisoner. Though Ellis is notoriously hotheaded and was caught fighting an illegal duel, he arrives at the Tower as assistant to the renowned scientist Sir Isaac Newton. Newton is Warden of the Royal Mint, which resides within the Tower walls, and he has accepted an appointment from the King of England and Parliament to investigate and prosecute counterfeiters whose false coins threaten to bring down the shaky, war-weakened economy. Ellis may lack Newton’s scholarly mind, but he is quick with a pistol and proves himself to be an invaluable sidekick and devoted apprentice to Newton as they zealously pursue these criminals.

While Newton and Ellis investigate a counterfeiting ring, they come upon a mysterious coded message on the body of a man killed in the Lion Tower, as well as alchemical symbols that indicate this was more than just a random murder. Despite Newton’s formidable intellect, he is unable to decipher the cryptic message or any of the others he and Ellis find as the body count increases within the Tower complex. As they are drawn into a wild pursuit of the counterfeiters that takes them from the madhouse of Bedlam to the squalid confines of Newgate prison and back to the Tower itself, Newton and Ellis discover that the counterfeiting is only a small part of a larger, more dangerous plot, one that reaches to the highest echelons of power and nobility and threatens much more than the collapse of the economy.

Dark Matter is the lastest masterwork of suspense from Philip Kerr, the internationally bestselling and brilliantly innovative thriller writer who has dazzled readers with his imaginative, fast-paced novels. Like An Instance of the Fingerpost, The Name of the Rose, and Kerr’s own Berlin Noir trilogy, Dark Matter is historical mystery at its finest, an extraordinary, suspense-filled journey through the shadowy streets and back alleys of London with the brilliant Newton and his faithful protégé. The haunted Tower with its bloody history is the perfect backdrop for this richly satisfying tale, one that introduces an engrossing mystery into the volatile mix of politics, science, and religion that characterized life in seventeenth-century London.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Apr 28, 2010
• ISBN: 9780307519306

Philip Kerr

Philip Kerr is the bestselling author of the Bernie Gunther thrillers, for which he received a CWA Dagger Award. Born in Edinburgh, he now lives in London. He is a life-long supporter of Arsenal. Follow @theScottManson on Twitter.

Reviews for Dark Matter

[jwhenderson_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Speculation about a side of Isaac Newton of which I was unaware. This fiction imagines a mystery that only the mind of a man like Newton and his intrepid associate can solve.

[kvrfan9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Isaac Newton: crimefighter? Who would have known?

It all comes about because Newton was the warden of England's mint, and counterfeit specie has been found undermining the economy as England wars with France. Such actions could bring the whole country down. If there's not enough good money out there, how will the troops be paid?

Newton is in his fifties and enlists a younger helper, Mr. Ellis, as kind of a protege and bodyguard. And in the course of their investigations, they not only uncover the roots of the counterfeiting conspiracy, but also a more nefarious plot.

Though it occurs a couple hundred years before Conan Doyle's stories, some might consider this novel a Sherlock Holmes ripoff. As is clear from the beginning, when Ellis first meets Newton, Newton possesses the same powers of observation as Holmes. He is even fond of reproving Ellis, "You see, but you do not observe!" Ellis serves as Newton's Dr. Watson, albeit with more swashbuckling abilities. And as in the late 17th century London didn't have any police force to speak of, Newton and Ellis are pretty much on their own.

But I am a Holmes fan and I enjoyed this book. I think others would too.

[altheaann · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

If you are interested in finding a book to read with the goal of learning more about Isaac Newton... read another book. If, on the other hand, you are interested in a reasonably entertaining historical murder mystery - check this out.
The Newton we meet here is more Sherlock Holmes than, well, Newton. The story is told by his clerk, who happens to be a swashbuckling, pistol-toting rakehell. (Newton was aware that there were plots afoot, and that he might need some protection, you see.)
It's set at the time when Newton was in charge of England's Mint, in the Tower of London, which involved finding and prosecuting forgers. In the course of Newton and his clerk pursuing these duties, a whole bunch of murders happen, there are encoded messages, a possible Templar treasure connection, conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, issues with anti-British French Huguenots, opium-addled prostitutes, sword duels and alchemy.
The plot moves along without getting boring, and I thought that Kerr did a good job of making the language feel period-appropriate without it feeling stilted or awkward to read.
After all the action, it ends on a surprisingly (and slightly jarring) philosophical and downbeat note, but I didn't really mind that. But, as I said - you're not really going to learn a lot about Newton that you didn't already know.

[markberonte · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dark Matter is the lastest masterwork of suspense from Philip Kerr, the internationally bestselling and brilliantly innovative thriller writer who has dazzled readers with his imaginative, fast-paced novels. Like An Instance of the Fingerpost, The Name of the Rose, and Kerr’s own Berlin Noir trilogy, Dark Matter is historical mystery at its finest, an extraordinary, suspense-filled journey through the shadowy streets and back alleys of London with the brilliant Newton and his faithful protégé. The haunted Tower with its bloody history is the perfect backdrop for this richly satisfying tale, one that introduces an engrossing mystery into the volatile mix of politics, science, and religion that characterized life in seventeenth-century London.

[dougwood57 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Phillip Kerr is better known for his Bernie Gunther detective stories especially his Berlin Noir: March Violets; The Pale Criminal; A German Requiem trilogy, but I found Dark Matter to be a thoroughly enjoyable dip into the historical detective genre. Kerr uses Sir Isaac Newton's appointment as Warden of the Royal Mint in 1696 as the takeoff point for a murder mystery that involves the pursuit of counterfeiters and a more serious conspiracy to foment an English Protestant version of the St. Bartholomew's Massacre.Kerr employs many historical characters and scenes. His narrator is Newton's real-life assistant Christopher Ellis. The seemingly inevitable and overused comparison of any detective duo to Holmes and Watson has some merit here. Newton is the idiosyncratic genius and Ellis is the useful aide de snoop (Although it is hard to imagine Watson doing what Ellis does with Newton's niece.).The Mint is located at the Tower of London and Kerr gives nice description of the Tower's layout in that day as well as the tensions dividing the Royal Mint and the Royal Armoury. Newton and Ellis traverse London's seedier spots such as Newgate Prison, Bedlam, and assorted knocking shops (complete with opium den). The reader meets a number of fascinating historical characters. To name a few: a slippery Daniel Defoe; Cambridge professor, mathematician, and cryptographer John Wallis; the famous diarist Samuel Pepys, and Titus Oates, fabricator of the historical `Popish plot' and freed by a royal pardon, returns in the novel to gin up more anti-Catholic hysteria.Kerr also examines Newton's anti-Trinitarian Arian religious views, which nearly land him in very deep water (in the novel as well as in real life). Newton's scientific interest in alchemy assists him in uncovering `coiners' as he pursues his duties during the Great Recoinage (the government's attempt to stabilize and normalize the currency).Pursuing what appear to be four murders related to the Mint, Newton uses his skill and intense labor as a cryptographer to discover that not one, but rather two criminal enterprises are at work. While both crimes are solved, I particularly appreciated the way Kerr wove actual events into his in depiction of the disparate fates of the well-connected and the ordinary criminal. For example, Titus Oates really did receive an unexplained boost in his royal pension from 5 Pounds per annum to 500 Pounds!Unlike some historical fiction which use a well-known historical event simply as a jumping off point for a routine detective story, Dark Matter makes good use of both large events and historical details, characters colorful and compelling, and a sense of time and place to create a superior historical detective story. In the end, however, Kerr falls short of a five-star effort because he puts too many objects in motion. Perhaps Kerr's momentum could have been better conserved with a little more focus gravity of his subject.Readers may also be interested in a 2009 work of nonfiction, Newton and the Counterfeiter: The Unknown Detective Career of the World's Greatest Scientist by Thomas Levenson.

[robertmosher · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Author Philip Kerr has turned his hand to a number of genres, but his principal field of literary endeavor remains his series of Bernie Gunther detective novels. In this instance, however, Kerr has turned away from pre-war, wartime, and post-war Germany and Europe to late-17th Century London. And this time rather than create his own detective to insert into historical situations, Kerr has dared to make his lead investigator the renowned scientist Sir Isaac Newton. The plot centers around Newton's recent appointment as Warden of the Royal Mint. To assist him in executing his new responsibilities for protecting the King's coinage (there being no paper money in this period), Newton seeks the assistance of a younger assistant and hires Christopher Ellis - a somewhat hot-blooded young man in need of employment after participating in an outlawed duel that now prevents him from pursuing a career in the law.With the King in Europe pursuing his war against France, the kingdom is in peril as well from those who would debase the coin of the realm with counterfeits, potentially ruining England's entire economic system. Newton and Ellis doggedly follow the leads linking a series of murders that take place across London and in the Tower of London itself and which may be the work of a dangerous gang of counterfeiters and possibly even enemy agents.Kerr draws together both history and his storyline to present a dark picture of 17th Century England and Europe. His detective team of Isaac Newton and Christopher Ellis are presented with an obvious nod to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson though I think a debt is equally owed to the almost equally important crime-solving team of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. As Newton and Ellis face off against counterfeiters, political rivals, and potential enemy agents - and various denizens of London's underworld - the story is engaging and well paced. While I found myself wondering at how much of this the real Newton might have actually done, I generally found the history accurate and well-used to support an interesting story (and once again found myself missing my subway stop as I was engrossed in a critical moment in Newton's investigation!). It would be amusing to see what Kerr could do with his team of detectives over several more adventures, but the premise here of Ellis telling the story only because his former employer is now deceased seems to preclude that possibility. Still, Kerr has given us a plausible and readable contribution to the genre of historical detective fiction.

[devenish_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Based on fact ,this is a story of crime and codes set in London of the late 1600's. Isaac Newton is Warden of the Royal Mint and is on the track of counterfeiters who could bring the shaky economy of England to it's knees.Newton employs an assistant,one Christopher Ellis,to help him in his investigations and also as a much needed bodyguard. Ellis becomes involved with Newton's niece with unfortunate results.This is an exciting historical story which really grabs the attention and makes you want to continue reading right to the last page. The main reason is because The Tower of London,which is actually the main character in this book,dominates the scene throughout.Also the portrait of Newton himself seems to rise out of the page in front of the reader.

[bruderbane · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

“Dark Matter: The Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton” starts off quite well with numerous hints of scientific ciphers and dark English societies. However unlike many Philip Kerr novels have in the past, it ends on a rather languid and lethargic note. I liked the play between Mr. Kerr’s main character, Mr. Ellis, and Newton, I enjoyed their journey down the seamy streets and backrooms of London including the Shelocksian discoveries they shared. What I didn’t enjoy was how their journey ended within rather turgid bag of plot lines that seemed to just fizzle out. That it involved yet another, although haphazard, attempt to find the secrets of the Templars’ felt unneeded and disused. Mr. Kerr is a great writer with an incredible grasp of the written word; I’ll accept this as a misstep, of sorts.

[jefware · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Makes late 17th century London come alive. What a grim place!