Tuesday, May 31, 2011

School of Night

by Louis Bayard  352 pages

School of Night fits into a category I like to call Shakepearean adventure: a modern day thriller based on documents/clues from the Elizabethan era. The current caper story includes a lost letter from Sir Walter Raleigh, alchemists' gold, secret ciphers, and a treasure map. Henry Cavendish is an unsuccessful Elizabethan scholar, and finds himself in the middle of scholarly intrigue, ruthless antiquities collectors, and a mysterious, and beautiful, security consultant. Henry has to use his knowledge of the School of Night, a secret debating club formed by Christopher Marlowe, Raleigh, and the scientific genius/alchemist Thomas Hariot, to solve the mystery. The book builds suspense as it alternates between the present day and Elizabethan stories, and results in a dramatic ending.

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