Brilliance

This is the story of how two brilliant men came together and changed the world. But while the banker, J.P. Morgan, left the relationship unscathed, remaining the uncontested Napoleon of Wall Street, his vision of a corporate world set in motion, the renowned inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, went from being hailed as the "bringer of light" to be derided as "Wall Street's executioner." From his breakthrough with the light bulb to his complicity in the invention of the electric chair, this self-taught workhorse of a man put the principles of science to practical effect to set the stage for many of the advances - but also some of the scourges - of the twentieth century. But what went on in the mind and heart of this "genius" the public thought it knew? One can only imagine.Anthony McCarten's debut novel, Spinners (1998), was internationally acclaimed and has since been translated into four languages. His collection of short stories, A Modest Apocalypse, was shortlisted in the Heinemann-Reed Fiction Award in 1991. He has also written twelve stage plays, including co-writing the world-wide success Ladies Night, which won the prestigious Moliere prize, the Meilleure Piece Comique in 2001.;McCarten has also adapted another of his plays, Via Satellite, into a feature film which he directed, and which had its world premiere at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. Born in 1961, Anthony McCarten grew up in New Plymouth and currently divides his time between Wellington, London and Los Angeles.