The School of Night A Novel [Paperback]

From Louis Bayard, an ancient mystery, a lost letter, and a timeless love unleash a long-buried web of intrigue that spans four centuries

In the late sixteenth century, five brilliant scholars gather under the cloak of darkness to discuss God, politics, astronomy, and the black arts. Known as the School of Night, they meet in secret to avoid the wrath of Queen Elizabeth. But one of the men, Thomas Harriot, has secrets of his own, secrets he shares with one person only: the servant woman he loves.

In modern-day Washington, D.C., disgraced Elizabethan scholar Henry Cavendish has been hired by the ruthless antiquities collector Bernard Styles to find a missing letter. The letter dates from the 1600s and was stolen by Henry's close friend, Alonzo Wax. Now Wax is dead and Styles wants the letter back.

But the letter is an object of interest to others, too. It may be the clue to a hidden treasure; it may contain the long-sought formula for alchemy; it most certainly will prove the existence of the group of men whom Shakespeare dubbed the School of Night but about whom little is known. Joining Henry in his search for the letter is Clarissa Dale, a mysterious woman who suffers from visions that only Henry can understand. In short order, Henry finds himself stumbling through a secretive world of ancient perils, caught up in a deadly plot, and ensnared in the tragic legacy of a forgotten genius.

1. Bayard draws many parallels between the worlds of Thomas Harriot and Henry Cavendish. What does Henry Cavendish have in common with the philosophers in the School of Night? Do you think he would he have been invited to attend their meetings, if they were alive at the same time?

2. Imagine you were a member of the School of Night. What treasure would you try to protect? Why?

3. Margaret and Clarissa are both very strong womenone in mind, one in body. How are they similar? How are they different?

4. Had you heard of Thomas Harriot l“!