Historical fiction book · Open Library
The Black Tower
Unknown author · historical fiction
Vidocq. The name strikes terror in the Parisian underworld of 1818. As founder and chief of a newly created plainclothes police force, Vidocq has used his mastery of disguise and surveillance to capture some of France’s most notorious and elusive criminals. Now he is hot on the trail of a tantalizing mystery—the fate of the young dauphin Louis-Charles, son of Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XVI.Hector Carpentier, a medical student, lives with his widowed mother in her once-genteel home, now a boardinghouse, in Paris’s Latin Quarter, helping the family make ends meet in the politically perilous
About this historical novel
The Black Tower by Unknown author is historical fiction rooted in Global / multiple. Vidocq. The name strikes terror in the Parisian underworld of 1818. As founder and chief of a newly created plainclothes police force, Vidocq has used his mastery of disguise and surveillance to capture some of France’s most notorious and elusive criminals. Now he is hot on the trail of a tantalizing mystery—the fate of the young dauphin Louis-Charles, son of Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XVI.Hector Carpentier, a medical student, lives with his widowed mother in her once-genteel home, now a boardinghouse, in Paris’s Latin Quarter, helping the family make ends meet in the politically perilous
On HisFic we tag it under 1. Literary historical fiction so you can pair it with similar story types. Recurring themes include detectives, historical fiction, kings and rulers, fiction, and mystery fiction.
Use HisFic’s free journey planner to stay in this era or subgenre, save titles to a want-to-read list in your browser, and open Amazon when you are ready to buy. HisFic is discovery-only—not a bookstore—so pages like this exist to help you choose the next historical novel with intent.
Plot summary
Vidocq. The name strikes terror in the Parisian underworld of 1818. As founder and chief of a newly created plainclothes police force, Vidocq has used his mastery of disguise and surveillance to capture some of France’s most notorious and elusive criminals. Now he is hot on the trail of a tantalizing mystery—the fate of the young dauphin Louis-Charles, son of Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XVI.Hector Carpentier, a medical student, lives with his widowed mother in her once-genteel home, now a boardinghouse, in Paris’s Latin Quarter, helping the family make ends meet in the politically perilous
Subgenres
Eras
- Not classified yet
More like this on HisFic
Curated titles that share era, story type, or themes.
- War and Peace · Leo Tolstoy
Five Russian families move through court, love, and the Napoleonic invasion as 1805 becomes Borodino and Moscow burns. Tolstoy’s epic is Napoleonic historical fiction on a national scale—ballrooms and battlefields, Pierre and Natasha, and the question of who makes history.
- The Women · Kristin Hannah
A young American nurse serves in Vietnam and struggles to be seen when she comes home.
- The Book Thief · Markus Zusak
A girl steals books in Nazi Germany; Death narrates a story of words and survival.
- Homegoing · Yaa Gyasi
Linked stories follow two half-sisters’ lineages across centuries of African and American history.
- The Book Thief · Markus Zusak
Death narrates the story of a girl who steals books in Nazi Germany—and the family that hides a Jewish man.
- The Song of Achilles · Madeline Miller
Patroclus narrates his bond with Achilles against the backdrop of the Trojan War.
Regions & places
Global / multiple
Themes
- detectives
- historical fiction
- kings and rulers
- fiction
- mystery fiction
- history
- fiction, mystery & detective, general
- france, fiction
Tags
open-library