Did you make Dr. Hector Carpentier a venerologist because it shows him as a more comical, unique character?
Or maybe it’s your comedic side that couldn’t resist. LB: Well, poor Hector doesn’t get a lot of action over the course of the book, so I thought this would be the next best thing. Venerealogy is also a discipline that cuts across social strata, which is what the book does, too. BRC: Do you visit your settings in order to get the “feel” of them, the authenticity of the streets, the language, the smells? How do you research to be sure they are true to the 19th century? LB: THE BLACK TOWER did give me a great excuse to go back to Paris. (I’ll do anything for my art, right?) So I spent a few days just walking around and getting the lay of the land. But even though a lot of the old architecture remains, it’s still very hard to “see” 19th-century Paris in today’s city. (It’s even harder in London.) So to really get the feel of it, you have to go to books. I read a lot of Hugo and Balzac and a lot of other primary sources. And when that failed, I just applied my imagination. That’s why it’s
