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Louis Bayard

Biography

Louis Bayard

In the words of the New York Times, Louis Bayard “reinvigorates historical fiction,” rendering the past “as if he’d witnessed it firsthand.”

His acclaimed novels include THE PALE BLUE EYE, adapted into the global #1 Netflix release starring Christian BaleJACKIE & ME, ranked by the Washington Post as one of the top novels of 2022; the national bestseller COURTING MR. LINCOLN; ROOSEVELT'S BEAST; THE SCHOOL OF NIGHT; THE BLACK TOWER; and MR. TIMOTHY, as well as the highly praised young-adult novel LUCKY STRIKES.

His reviews and articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and Salon, and he is a contributing writer to the Washington Post Book World.

A former instructor at George Washington University, he was the chair of the PEN/Faulkner Awards and the author of the popular "Downton Abbey" recaps for the New York Times. His work has been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Louis Bayard

Books by Louis Bayard

by Louis Bayard - Fiction, Historical Fiction

In September 1892, Oscar Wilde and his family have retreated to the idyllic Norfolk countryside for a holiday. His wife, Constance, has every reason to be happy: two beautiful sons, her own work as an advocate for feminist causes, and a delightfully charming and affectionate husband and father to her children, who also happens to be the most sought-after author in England. But with the arrival of an unexpected houseguest, the aristocratic young poet Lord Alfred Douglas, Constance gradually --- and then all at once --- comes to see that her husband’s heart is elsewhere and that the growing intensity between the two men threatens the whole foundation of their lives.

by Louis Bayard - Fiction, Historical Fiction

In 1951, former debutante Jacqueline Bouvier is hard at work as the Inquiring Camera Girl for a Washington newspaper. Her mission in life is “not to be a housewife,” but when she meets the charismatic congressman Jack Kennedy at a Georgetown party, her resolution begins to falter. As Jackie is drawn deeper into the Kennedy orbit, and as Jack himself grows increasingly elusive and absent, she begins to question what life at his side would mean. For answers, she turns to his best friend and confidant, Lem Billings, a closeted gay man who has been instructed by the Kennedy family to seal the deal with Jack’s new girl. But as he gets to know her, a deep and touching friendship emerges, leaving him with painfully divided alliances and a troubling dilemma: Is this the marriage she deserves?

by Louis Bayard - Fiction, Historical Fiction

When Mary Todd meets Abraham Lincoln, he is on no one's shortlist to be president. Rough and reticent, he’s a country lawyer lacking money and manners, living above a dry goods shop, but with a gift for oratory. Mary, a quick, self-possessed debutante with a tireless interest in debates and elections, at first finds him an enigma. It’s not long, though, before she sees the Lincoln that his roommate, Joshua Speed, knows: a man who, despite his awkwardness, is amiable and profound, with a gentle wit to match his genius and a respect for her keen political mind. But as her relationship with Lincoln deepens, she must confront his inseparable friendship with Speed, who has taught his roommate how to dance, dress and navigate the polite society of Springfield.

by Louis Bayard - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Plagued by hunger and suffering the lingering effects of malaria, Theodore Roosevelt, his son Kermit, and the other members of the now-ravaged Roosevelt-Rondon scientific expedition are traveling deeper and deeper into the jungle. When Kermit and Teddy are kidnapped by a never-before-seen Amazonian tribe, the great hunters are asked one thing in exchange for their freedom: find and kill a beast that leaves no tracks and that no member of the tribe has ever seen.

by Louis Bayard - Fiction, Thriller

Thomas Harriot is a member of a group of five brilliant scholars who meet under the cloak of darkness to discuss God, politics and the black arts. When Harriot’s friend’s estate provides him with a housekeeper, he has little idea how important she will become --- in his studies and in his heart.