Louis Bayard is theauthor of Mr. Timothy, a New York Times Notable Book, and thenational best-seller The Pale Blue Eye. Now his third novel, The Black Tower, also a historical thriller, has just been released to greatcritical acclaim.

Louis was kind enough to stop by toanswer a few questions.






- Vidocq, the ex-convictturned detective, is a legendary figure in his native France, but he is, or wasfar less famous in the United States. Thank you for introducing him to anAmerican readership! How did you “discover” Vidocq, and what drew you to him?

It was Edgar Allan Poewho opened my eyes. In the course of researching The Pale Blue Eye,I came across a reference to Vidocq in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” Ithen learned he’d written these bestselling memoirs and had been a householdname on both sides of the Atlantic.  The more I learned about him, themore intrigued I was.

- I found your recreationof the gritty side of early 19th century Paris quite convincing. Howdid you achieve this?

Well, I did spend sometime walking around Paris, getting a feel for where everything was.  But,of course, “the old Paris” is gone in many places, so I turned to theliterature of the period: Hugo, Balzac, a number of primary historical sources.

- Why did you choose afirst-person narrative, and more particularly Hector Carpentier, the medicalstudent, as the narrator?

I tend to write infirst-person because it has a nice intimacy. I also love the challenge ofcreating a new voice. Viidocq, I suppose, could have narrated thestory, but I figured the best way to really see him was through someone else’seyes – in the same way that Poe is “seen” by Landor in The Pale Blue Eye.

- Your narrator, Hector,is naïve and endearing. Did you create this character as the antithesis toVidocq?

Very much so. They’re meant to challenge each other and comment on each other – even as theygrow closer and closer together.

- This is your first novelto be set in France. What challenges, if any, did it pose?

Language was the bigone. I regret to say that my French ended with high school, so I had tostruggle to translate certain documents. Fortunately, a lot of what Ineeded – including Vidocq’s memoirs – has already been translated into English.

- The young man who might- or might not - be Louis XVII, the son of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette,suffers from a cognitive and emotional disorder. Is this a specific medicalcondition, and how did you go about researching it?

I didn’t do a lot ofresearch. In fact, I even made up a medical authority for Hector tocite! It was really just me imagining what kind of psychological damageLouis XVII would have experienced in the Tower and then projecting that intothe future.

- What authors haveinfluenced your own work?

It’s harder to say whichauthors DIDN’T influence me. Dickens was probably the primaryinfluence—Mr. Timothy was really conceived as an homage to him.

- What can you tell usabout your next project, or projects?

I’m planning to write about the School of Night,a cadre of Elizabethan intellectuals that included Walter Raleigh andChristopher Marlowe and that reportedly dabbled in dark arts. We don’tactually know if there was a formal school, but for a fiction writer, thathistorical gap is heaven-sent because you can make things pretty much how youwant them to be.

- Congratulations, Louis, and best wishes for thisnew novel!

Thank you!