The School of Night (46 page)

Acknowledgments

It's not quite a cast of thousands, but many kind people were tasked with making me less dumb. Among them: Jessica Berman, Steve Cymrot, Daniel De Simone, Teresa Grafton, Barry Meegan, Katherine Neville, George Pelecanos, John Riley, Jonathan Simon, Francis Slakey, and Dan Traister. I particularly want to thank the patient souls at the Folger Shakespeare Library, especially Georgianna Ziegler, Richard Kuhta, Betsy Walsh, Heather Wolfe, and Karen Lyon.

My Library of Congress research angel, Abby Yochelson, fielded every bizarre question I could throw at her. Gary Krist provided, with his book
Extravagance
, a useful structural template. James Reese offered invaluable feedback and encouragement. Leslie Feore and the staff of Syon House were so kind in responding to queries that I felt quite churlish devising a fictional burglary of their property. I hope they will pardon me for my make-believe crimes and for any real-world offenses against fact.

Thanks, finally, to Marjorie Braman and Christopher Schelling, who've been riding this train from day one. And to Montuori, who is absolved, of course, from reading a word of this.

About the Author

L
OUIS
B
AYARD
is the author of the critically acclaimed
The Black Tower
, the national bestseller
The Pale Blue Eye
, and
Mr. Timothy
, a New York Times Notable Book. A former staff writer for Salon.com, Bayard has written articles and reviews for
The New York Times
,
The Washington Post
, Nerve.com, and
Preservation
, among others. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Also by Louis Bayard

The Black Tower

The Pale Blue Eye

Mr. Timothy

Endangered Species

Fool's Errand

Henry Holt and Company, LLC

Publishers since 1866

175 Fifth Avenue

New York, New York 10010

www.henryholt.com

Henry Holt
®
and
®
are registered trademarks of Henry Holt and Company, LLC.

Copyright © 2010 by Louis Bayard

All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bayard, Louis.

 The school of night: a novel / Louis Bayard.—1st ed.

     p.      cm.

 ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-9069-7

 ISBN-10: 0-8050-9069-X

 1.  Collectors and collecting—Washington (D.C.)—Fiction.   2.  Historians—Washington (D.C.)—Fiction.   3.  Secret societies—England—History—16th century—Fiction.   I.  Title.

 PS3552.A85864S35 2011

 813'.54—dc22

2010024961

First Edition 2010

Map and other art by Laura Hartman Maestro

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

eISBN 978-1-4299-6555-2

First Henry Holt eBook Edition: March 2011