All that’s related about the Rothschilds (chapters 5 and 24) is a matter of historical record. They did indeed finance royalty, governments, and wars, profiting immensely from all sides.
Louis Etienne Saint-Denis (chapter 16) faithfully served Napoleon. He went into exile with his master on both Elba and St. Helena and penned all of Napoleon’s writings (chapter 40). Napoleon bequeathed to Saint-Denis 400 books from his personal library (chapters 16, 17, and 25) and charged him with holding those books until Napoleon’s son attained the age of sixteen. The addition of one particular volume on the Merovingians-supposedly named in the will-is mine, as is the manner in which Saint-Denis ultimately disposed of that collection (chapter 16).
Paris is accurately described throughout (starting with chapter 18), as is Shakespeare & Company, which stands on the Left Bank, facing Notre Dame.
The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve, by G. Edward Griffin, proved helpful in formulating Sam Collins’ and Meagan Morrison’s views on conspiratorial economics. That book also pointed me toward Executive Order 11110 (chapter 24), issued by President Kennedy shortly before his assassination.
Westminster Abbey in London, along with its Poets’ Corner (chapter 19), are fascinating. Jack the Ripper tours (chapter 43) occur on London’s east side nightly (I enjoyed one myself).
France’s Loire Valley is magnificent (chapter 20). Eliza Larocque’s château is my creation, though I modeled it after the fabled Chenonceau, which also spans the river Cher. Paris’ Latin Quarter (chapter 23) bristles with life twenty-four hours a day and is accurately captured, as is the Cluny Museum (first seen in chapter 26) with its vast array of medieval exhibits (chapter 28). The Invalides and its Church of the Dome (chapter 36) are both Paris landmarks. Napoleon’s sarcophagus (chapter 36) is certainly grandiose. The part of the military museum at the Invalides devoted to Napoleon was undergoing renovation while I was there, so I incorporated that into the story (chapter 38). Only the addition of the book on the Merovingians (chapters 36 and 38) is fiction. The Ritz hotel, its Bar Hemingway (chapter 33), and Le Grand Véfour restaurant (chapter 37) are all there. Meagan Morrison’s fascination with the Paris underground (chapter 44) mirrors my own with those subterranean passages.