THE BLACK TOWER, by Louis Bayard

Historical Fiction -- 4 stars



When Louis XVI and Mary Antoinette were executed, they left behind their 9 year old son, Charles.  History says he died in prison in 1795 and was buried in an unmarked grave. Twenty-three years later, historical detective Eugene Francois Vidocq, the real life, first director of France's Surete Nationale, isn't so sure that history is correct.  There must be final proof somewhere, but who holds the key? ----- Paris oozes its 1818 mud into this well-paced novel that switches between an old diary and the current hunt, while period-flavored language brings the complicated and paradoxical character of Vidocq (he was Victor Hugo's inspiration for both Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert in Les Miserables) to life in this search for the man who may be the grown up Dauphin.  Joined by a young, impoverished doctor and aided by the Parisian criminal element, it's a what-if story that fascinates and touches the heart.