The School of Night: A Novel Louis Bayard
Henry Holt and Co., March 2011
ISBN: 978-0805090697
An ancient mystery, a lost letter, and a timeless love unleash a long-buried web of intrigue that spans four centuries.
Louis Bayard is a terrific writer, who is able to weave fictional tales about the lives of real life historical figures. With this beautifully crafted portrait of the times, Louis Bayard adds a riveting tale of suspense and mystery.
When, a well-known and brilliant Elizabethan scholar, Alonzo Wax commits suicide his closest friend Henry Cavendish, a disgraced Elizabethan scholar, has been selected as executor of his will. When Henry is enlisted by the ruthless British antiquities dealer Bernard Styles to find a letter that Alonzo stole from him, Henry finds himself trying to solve a centuries old mystery involving the mysterious School of Night, a group of five brilliant sixteenth century scientists who met under the cover of darkness and discussed God, politics, science, philosophy, astronomy and the black arts. Soon Henry meets the beautiful and cursed Clarissa Dale, who experiences strange visions involving one of the members of the School of Night named Thomas Harriot, who is as elusive as he is brilliant. Together they find themselves caught up in a deadly plot to discover if this letter really leads to ancient treasure.
The School of Night is a must read book for all lovers of historical fiction and mystery! The School of Night is the kind of book that that demonstrates the best of literary fiction, a book that continues to elicit even more after the last page is read in the hearts and imagination of avid historical readers.
LOUIS BAYARD is the author of The Black Tower, the national bestseller The Pale Blue Eye, and Mr. Timothy, a New York Times Notable Book. A former staff writer for Salon.com, Bayard has written articles and reviews for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Nerve.com, and Preservation, among other publications. He lives in Washington, D.C.
