A Review Essay: David Kynaston’s Till Time’s Last Sand: A History of the Bank of England, 1694–2013

This essay reviews Till Time’s Last Sand: A History of the Bank of England, 1694–2013, David Kynaston’s history of the Bank of England (the Bank) from its foundation in 1694 to the present day. I focus on three themes running through his narrative. First, for much of that time, the Bank was a private company playing a public role; how did it manage to do this and why was it eventually brought into public ownership? Second, I examine the various...