Financial thriller is a subgenre of thriller fiction in which the

financial system A financial system is a system that allows the exchange of funds between financial market participants such as lenders, investors, and borrowers. Financial systems operate at national and global levels. Financial institutions consist of complex, ...

and

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

play a major role.

History

The novel '' The Financier'' (1912) by

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm mora ...

displays elements of a financial thriller and is an early example of the genre. Paul Erdman helped popularize the modern financial thriller, with ''The Billion Dollar Sure Thing'' (1973). The former president of a Swiss bank, he penned the novel while in jail awaiting trial on fraud charges related to speculating in the cocoa market.

Overview

In many cases the protagonist of a financial thriller is a financial professional such as

Christian Slater Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut with a leading role in ''The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakthrough role as Jason "J.D." D ...

’s character in the 2005 film '' The Deal'', or John Kent in Martin Bodenham's 2011 novel, ''The Geneva Connection''. Often, the plot centers on a financial crime. It may be a crime that merely enriches a small number of individuals as with ''The Millionaires'' by

Brad Meltzer Brad Meltzer (born April 1, 1970) is an American novelist, non-fiction writer, TV show creator, and comic book author. His novels touch on the political thriller, legal thriller and conspiracy fiction genres, while he has also written superher ...

, or one that threatens the entire financial system, as in

Tom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of his novels have ...

’s ''

Debt of Honor ''Debt of Honor'' is a techno-thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and released on August 17, 1994. A direct sequel to '' The Sum of All Fears'' (1991), Jack Ryan becomes the National Security Advisor when a secret cabal of Japanese industria ...

'' (1994). In
Flash Crash
" by Denison Hatch the financial crime involves an algorithmic programmer ("quant") who is blackmailed into writing a program that will crash the international gold markets. Financial thrillers are often used as

morality play The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...

s to illustrate the evils of greed, as in ''Black Money'' (1995), by Michael M. Thomas. In the wake of the late-2000s financial crisis, some financial thrillers took on educational roles. The 2011 HBO TV-movie ''

Too Big to Fail "Too big to fail" (TBTF) and "too big to jail" is a theory in banking and finance that asserts that certain corporations, particularly financial institutions, are so large and so interconnected that their failure would be disastrous to the great ...

'' is, in the words of Jesse Eisinger, "extraordinarily revealing about the financial crisis" but not always in a helpful way. For example, Eisinger says, "The government gave the banks money but didn't get voting rights and didn't prevent the banks from using the money to pay dividends or bonuses. They wrote what was essentially a blank check...It's left to the hapless PR woman...to wonder why, if the government is saving these institutions, it couldn't impose any limits on how the money be used." Another film in this genre is J. C. Chandor's

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated ''

Margin Call ''Margin Call'' is a 2011 American drama film written and directed by J. C. Chandor in his feature directorial debut. The principal story takes place over a 24-hour period at a large Wall Street investment bank during the initial stages of the ...

'', also from 2011. The novel ''The Economics of Ego Surplus: A Novel About the Global Economy'' (2010) by Paul McDonnold (originally subtitled "A Novel of Economic Terrorism") involves Kyle Linwood, a teacher, graduate student going for his doctorate in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

, and former victim of Libyan terrorist kidnappers, whose knowledge of Africa and economics become important when the U.S. stock market begins crashing due to massive and inexplicable sales. According to the Book Dilettante, "The author explains supply and demand,

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

and

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...

, the history of economics and Adam Smith, Keynes economic theory, the theory of contemporary neoclassical economists, and does so in a way that even high school students would understand In the 2010s, '' The Big Short'' was adapted from a non-fiction book into a movie, and it is also a prominent financial thriller.

List of financial thrillers

*'' Wall Street'' (1987) *''

Rogue Trader A rogue trader is person who makes financial trades in an unauthorised manner. Rogue trader may also refer to: * ''Rogue Trader'' (book), the autobiography of (and later a movie about) Nick Leeson, the man who caused the collapse of Barings Bank * ...

'' (1999) *''

Money Monster ''Money Monster'' is a 2016 American crime thriller film directed by Jodie Foster, with a screenplay by Jamie Linden, Alan Di Fiore, and Jim Kouf from a story by Di Fiore and Kauf. The film stars George Clooney (who also co-produced), Julia R ...

'' (2016) *'' Boiler Room'' (2000)Virgin Film: Oliver Stone - Google Books
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History

Overview

List of financial thrillers

References

See also