false 2 1 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 14 17:16:01 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 14 17:16:14 -0700 2009
There’s always a character (often the protagonist) who is wise beyond his time period
Someone famous wanders through the plot, no matter how improbably
No one really sounds like they’re actually from the period in which they’re living
The Black Tower is about an amazingly prescient proto-detective and his amazingly prescient doctor sidekick who uncover a plot to kill Louis XVII of France, who had been presumed to have died in prison during the Revolution. I enjoyed it in a goofy way for awhile before it totally went off the rails.

One of the reasons I liked The 19th Wife was that the author took pains to make the first-person historical narrative feel like it was contemporary to the period. Having a real contemporary account to base it on certainly must’ve helped. I can’t say the same for Bayard, but if you’re on vacation and have a thing for French history (and no hangups on historical accuracy), you might enjoy it.]]>