About 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 Bale, Jackie & 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.

A New York Times Notable author, he has been nominated for both the Edgar and Dagger awards, and his story, “Banana Triangle Six,” was chosen for The Best American Mystery Stories.

His reviews and articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and Salon.

An instructor at George Washington University, he is the chair of the PEN/Faulkner Awards and was the author of the popular Downton Abbey recaps for the New York Times.

His work has been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Praise for Louis Bayard

“Louis Bayard is a writer of remarkable gifts: for language, for imagination, for that mysterious admixture of audacity and craftsmanship that signals a major talent in the making.”
— Joyce Carol Oates

“I can't wait to see what Bayard does next.”
— Laura Lippman

“Louis Bayard is at the forefront of literary historical fiction.”
— Matthew Pearl, author of The Dante Club and The Poe Shadow