The Black Tower: A Novel (P.S.)

New
Paperback
2009
$17.97

From Louis Bayard, the acclaimed author of Mr. Timothy and The Pale Blue Eye, comes The Black Tower, a stunning and pitch-perfect novel featuring the real-life criminal who transformed himself into the world's first and greatest detective. In The Black Tower, Bayard deftly interweaves political intrigue, epic treachery, cover-ups, and conspiracies into a gripping portrait of family redemption-and brings to life an indelible portrait of the mighty and profane Eugene Francois Vidocq, history's legendary investigator.

Synopsis

From Louis Bayard, the acclaimed author of Mr. Timothy and The Pale Blue Eye, comes The Black Tower, a stunning and pitch-perfect novel featuring the real-life criminal who transformed himself into the world's first and greatest detective. In The Black Tower, Bayard deftly interweaves political intrigue, epic treachery, cover-ups, and conspiracies into a gripping portrait of family redemption-and brings to life an indelible portrait of the mighty and profane Eugene Francois Vidocq, history's legendary investigator.

$17.97

Quantity

10 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Published: 01 Nov 2009
ISBN 10: 0061173517
ISBN 13: 9780061173516

Media Reviews

Bayard is a fearlessly confident writer. We are treated to all of the narrative verve and sly wit-both plot twists and turns of phrase-that make his books such a pleasure to read. -- Washington Post
Delicious. [Bayard] inbues(s) his characters with real soul. You may find yourself, more than two centuries after the fact, aching over the fate of the pitiful young Dauphin. A- -- Entertainment Weekly
Louis Bayard repairs to Paris for another daring historical adventure. Bayard makes brilliant application of Vidocq in the fanciful adventure. No snatch-and-run researcher, Bayard takes care to capture Vidocq's roguish voice and grandiose affectations. -- New York Times Book Review
In the world of historical fiction, Louis Bayard is a master at blending history into intelligent thrillers. -- USA Today
Louis Bayard finds fictional inspiration in historical fact. He has emerged as a writer of historical thrillers in the vein of Caleb Carr, author of The Alienist, and 19th century writers such as Alexandre Dumas, author of The Count of Monte Christo. -- Wall Street Journal
A tale that has as much energy and cunning as the detective propelling it forward. -- Christian Science Monitor
A compelling and sympathetic narrator instantly draws the reader into Bayard's stellar third historical. Bayard keeps the reader guessing until the end. Few writers today can match the author's skill in devising an intelligent thriller with heart. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Having previously channeled Dickens and Poe, historical novelist Bayard throws down the gauntlet to Dumas in another high-energy melodrama. The novel's witty succession of trapdoor endings, culminating in the quietest of abdications, keeps surprising us. Who says they don't write `em like this anymore? Long may Bayard reign. -- Kirkus Reviews (starred)
In his fast-moving tale, Bayard deftly places details to make history come alive. -- Rocky Mountain News
Bayard doesn't revisit the past so much as reinvent it, historically and literarily, with a great deal of style, wit and suspense. Dark, surprising and Bayard's best example so far of a lean and accessible historical thriller. -- Miami Herald
In addition to the many fine, quirky character portraits and the visceral depiction of a chaotic France still reeling under the regime change, Bayard offers a rip-roaring plot full of smart and funny turns. -- Booklist (starred review)
The Black Tower breathes life into the world's first police detective, Vidocq, a literary feat that happily waited for this novelist. As the gripping and nuanced story races through the parlor rooms and back alleys of Paris, Bayard shows why he is at the forefront of literary historical fiction today. -- Matthew Pearl, author of The Dante Club and The Poe Shadow
A fascinating detective story about one of the world's most compelling mysteries. Bayard's scholarly and beautiful, heart-stopping prose always keeps before us the possibility of an improbability - what mystery is all about. -- Louisville Courier Journal
Top-notch historical fiction. Bayard's is the kind of popular fiction readers are thrilled to discover: equal parts effective plotting, lean but distinctive prose and characters and dialogue that brim with life from the outset. A royally entertaining read. -- Creative Loafing

Author Bio

A writer, book reviewer, and the author of Mr. Timothy and The Pale Blue Eye, Louis Bayard has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, and Salon.com, among other media outlets. He lives in Washington, D.C.