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Lunch » Tags » Books » Reviews » The School of Night: A Novel

The School of Night: A Novel

3 Ratings: 5.0

A book by Louis Bayard

Starred Review. Bayard (The Black Tower) shifts smoothly between present-day America and Elizabethan England in this superb intellectual thriller. At the Washington, D.C., funeral of document collector Alonzo Wax, who committed suicide, Bernard Styles, … see full wiki

Tags: Books, Cafe Libri

Author: Louis Bayard

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

3 reviews about The School of Night: A Novel

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review by snowleopard88. April 02, 2011

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

A delicious mystery!

As a writer of historical fiction mysteries, Louis Bayard has reached the top pinnacle of this genre. This guy can WRITE. Not only is his narrative exciting, fascinating and extremely erudite, he has a fine feel for words. He sprinkles a delicious sense of humor like icing on a cake everywhere as he takes you on this fabulous adventure both in the present and back in time. Bayard manages to both entertain and educate and you will come away from this novel a lot wiser but you won't … more

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review by katknit. June 08, 2011

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

Treasures

Disgraced Elizabethan scholar Henry Cavendish first learned about The School of Night from his close friend Alonzo Wax. In the 1600's, a group of English freethinkers, among them Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Harriott, Walter Raleigh, and William Shakespeare, met clandestinely to discuss such forbidden topics as atheism, science, and alchemy. Now, having attended Alonzo's memorial service, Henry is disconcerted by a proposition put to him by a noted book collector, Bernard Styles. Alonzo, … more

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review by frankiethek. March 21, 2011

The past is prologue

This a well-written and very exciting book. It moves between the present and the early 17th century. The central part of the puzzle that is the engine behind the plot is the second page of a letter from Sir Walter Ralegh to a friend. In it he mentions a School of Night. Apparently this school was composed of some of the leading intellectuals of the Elizabethan era, and they got together to spend hours discussing various topics, including religion. The author posits that it may have been his membership … more

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