The Black Tower: A Novel (P.S.) [Paperback]

Louis Bayard (Author)

Book Description

Series: P.S. | Publication Date: October 13, 2009

Vidocq! Master of disguise and chief of a newly created plainclothes police force, Vidocq is a man whose name sends terror rippling through the Parisian underworld of 1818—and the inconsequential life of Hector Carpentier is violently shaken when Vidocq storms into it. A former medical student living in his mother's Latin Quarter boardinghouse, Hector finds himself dragged into a dangerous mystery surrounding the fate of the dauphin, the ten-year-old son of King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette presumed to have suffered a cruel death years earlier in Paris's dreaded Temple. But the truth of what happened may be even more shocking—and it will fall to an aimless young man and the most feared detective in Paris to see justice done for a frightened little boy in a black tower . . . no matter what the cost.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. A compelling and sympathetic narrator instantly draws the reader into Bayard's stellar third historical. In 1818, the notorious Vidocq, a master detective who's rumored to work on both sides of the law, pulls 26-year-old Parisian doctor Hector Carpentier into a torture-murder inquiry. The victim, Chrétien Leblanc, died without revealing that he was on his way to visit Carpentier, news that comes as a complete shock to the doctor, as the dead man was a stranger to him. Vidocq soon discovers that Leblanc was actually in search of Carpentier's late father, who bore the same name. The elder Carpentier cared for Louis-Charles, Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette's young son, who died in prison in 1795. Bayard keeps the reader guessing until the end, though the puzzle aspect is less prominent than in his previous novel, The Pale Blue Eye, which featured Edgar Allan Poe as sleuth. Few writers today can match the author's skill in devising an intelligent thriller with heart. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Bayard draws his inspiration from history, and in this tight historical thriller, he revisits the tumultuous period following France’s Reign of Terror and Restoration. Vidocq, the first director of France’s Sûreté Nationale, is such a compelling real-life figure that not only does he make for a first-rate character study in The Black Tower—but he also served as the inspiration for Victor Hugo’s Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert in Les Misérables. If Vidocq—by turns scary and larger-than-life—steals the show, other characters, including the sympathetic Carpentier, are no less compelling. The suspenseful plot, a jigsaw of history and identity; ornate, period-driven prose; and a sharp eye for setting and cultural mores elevate The Black Tower into a memorable novel.
Copyright 2008 Bookmarks Publishing LLC --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (October 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061173517
• ISBN-13: 978-0061173516
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #816,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written & well-researched -- really takes you to 19th century Paris, July 27, 2008

By 

J. Fuchs "jax76" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Black Tower (Hardcover)

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SPOILER-FREE REVIEW -- nothing more than the publisher has already disclosed

This is a book that grabs you from sentence one and doesn't let go until the end. Louis Bayard has accomplished something rare in historical fiction: using a first person account, he manages to put the reader in a time and place, in this case 19th century Paris, without resorting to long descriptions the narrator wouldn't bother to make. His Paris comes alive organically, with all of its characters -- from the poor living in rat-infested squalor, to the petite bourgeousie, the nobility, and criminals and royalty -- and describes the smells, the monuments, the political climate, the weather and so many other period details so as to make you feel like you are there. That he also writes beautifully and has crafted a story that unfolds exquisitely and at a perfect pace makes this a great read and one I will want to return to again and again.

The narrator in question is Hector Carpentier, a doctor of sorts, who has frittered away his family's cash and whose mother has turned their home into a boarding house. He is drafted into helping solve a murder by feared police inspector Vidocq, an actual historical character, and in the process discovers that Louis-Charles (Louis the 17th), the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, believed killed as a child by revolutionaries under Napoleon, may still be alive.

While the real star of the book is Restoration Paris itself, Vidocq is a close second in all his animal ferocity and uncanny brilliance. Think a French Sherlock Holmes with an edge. The supporting characters are fleshed out beautifully, both men and women, rich and poor, and I'm not describing them because their identity and characters unfold with the twists and turns in the story and are best savored without knowing too much going in. Every time I thought the story had nowhere to go, it went somewhere new, and the characters continued to develop in their complexity and nuance.

At last the Vine program has provided fiction about which I can rave. This is historical fiction at its best.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, July 17, 2008

By 

K. Huff (Radnor, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Black Tower (Hardcover)

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The Black Tower is a what-could-have-been murder mystery. Set in 1818, not long after Napoleon had been deposed and the French monarchy reinstated, the novel begins when a man is found murdered in the streets of Paris, carrying a calling card with Dr. Hector Carpentier's name on it.

Enter Eugene Francois Vidocq, one of the most legendary and feared detectives of the early 19th century (and such an influence that Victor Hugo modeled both Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert on him; a Wikipedia search on Vidocq reveals that he is credited with introducing record-keeping, criminology, and ballistics to the field of criminal investigation). Vidocq has just established the very first plainclothes police force, said to be composed of some very dangerous ex-cons. It's into this world, where the line between the law and crime is smudged, that Dr. Hector Carpentier enters.

On the surface, the dead man, Leblanc, and Carpentier have nothing in common. But the mystery soon leads Carpentier and Vidocq into a dangerous search into the secrets of the murdered royal family--and entertain the thought that Louis-Charles, the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and who was imprisoned for many long months, might still be alive.

I'm always skeptical of historical fiction that's written in the first person--but surprisingly, Louis Bayard manages to make it work in this book. The Parisian underworld is sufficiently creepy, and Carpentier, plays a perfect (albeit watered-down) Dr. Watson to Vidocq's Sherlock Holmes. I just loved inspector Vidocq, for his razor-sharp wit and ability to transform into another character through disguise. He's arrogant and cocky, but very sure of his abilities as an investigator (and not afraid to strut like a peacock when someone compliments him)!

There's a hefty amount of political intrigue and espionage in this novel, made even juicier by the idea that the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette might have still been alive in 1818, long after a time period which everyone wished to forget. The novel is well-written; not a word is wasted here. It's a fast-paced and utterly convincing novel.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The history better than the fiction, May 17, 2009

By 

Brendan Foy "Foy" - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Black Tower (Hardcover)

The Black Tower is a wonderfully written and at times engaging book which paints a vivid and disturbing picture of Paris during the French Revolution and the Restoration period. Louis Bayard certainly did his homework and takes you right through a time portal as good historical fiction is supposed to. The operative word being "good".

The Black Tower is good but not great in my opinion thanks to the prose. The book reads like a column in a newspaper or an essay describing particular events. The narrative of the main character comes across as distant and detached from the happenings in the book and the reader (this one anyway) is never truly sucked in to what is going on. The characters are colorful, the pacing is even and the plot is solid but the storytelling isn't as captivating as I would have liked it to be. I like for a book to grab hold of me and throw me right in the middle of the story; The Black Tower did not do this. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, but am left frustrated because it could have been much better.

I have to mention that I picked up this novel on a whim, not knowing what to expect. I have heard of the author and saw the book at my local bookstore where it immediately reminded me of Caleb Carr's exceptional The Alienist. I started reading this book hoping it would be similar to Carr's masterwork but with an early 19th century Parisian setting instead of a late 19th century New York setting. Both are historical fiction and both can be described as period pieces, but the Black Tower really isn't as much of a mystery as The Alienist is. Perhaps it is unfair to compare the two, but either way one is clearly superior and demonstrates the difference between a great novel and a good novel.

The Black Tower relies heavily on its historical setting and intrigue among the characters. The historical setting is fascinating and adeptly brought to life by Bayard but as I am unfamiliar with the layout of Paris (though the jacket of the book provides a map) I couldn't quite follow the characters around without getting lost thanks to the forgettable French names of the different locales. My problem, not the books, but it contributed to my detachment from the story. The characters are interesting and colorful but the narrator, as mentioned, comes across as aloof and as a result we never truly get to know anyone other than the other main character, Vidocq. The author/narrator relies heavily on telling us about the characters instead of introducing us and allowing them to develop on their own.

I see that this book has received rave reviews here on Amazon and I am not going to say such acclaim is undeserving. I certainly enjoyed The Black Tower but at the same time there is better out there.

Amazon will not allow me to give the book 3.5 stars and I will not allow myself to give it 4 stars so I must round down. Still, it is Recommended.