Publication Date: March 17, 2026
A gifted yet financially disadvantaged artist falls victim to the manipulative control of his wealthy, enigmatic Harvard roommate in this incendiary novel from the author of Beautiful Country—a piercing exploration of class, ambition, identity, and the perilous cost of reinvention in the tradition of Patricia Highsmith and Donna Tartt.
The son of working-class Czech immigrants, Christopher “Atlas” Novotny is a talented painter who arrives at Harvard on a full scholarship. Raised amid hardship, he is unprepared for the privileged world introduced to him by his freshman roommate, Lucien Orsini-Conti.
Born to wealthy European diplomats, Lucien plays the part of the confident, sophisticated bon vivant. Where Lucien is bold and brash, Atlas is timid and introverted. Growing up a lonely outsider, Atlas is insecure, impressionable, and in awe of his brilliant roommate. But is Lucien all that he seems?
Sensing a willing disciple, Lucien introduces Atlas to a glittering new world of lavish parties and elite social clubs. When Atlas struggles to afford his new lifestyle, Lucien offers a solution, convincing the naïve artist to become a forger, passing off fakes to galleries and dealers.
But Lucien’s charismatic facade conceals something darker and more sinister. As Lucien’s behavior grows increasingly unstable, Atlas is forced into escalating risks with devastating consequences.
Drawing inspiration from the true crime stories of Christian Gerhartsreiter (a.k.a. “Clark Rockefeller”) and Adam Wheeler, Lucien is as darkly seductive and addictively readable as The Secret History, The Incendiaries, Creation Lake, and The Talented Mr. Ripley.
When a talented young artist comes under the thrall of his suave new Harvard roommate, their friendship becomes a portrait of dangerous deceit in J.R. Thornton’s brooding page-turner, Lucien.
In the summer of 2010, Christopher Novotny was a freshman arriving at Harvard on a full scholarship. The son of working-class Czech immigrants, Chris took to painting and drawing at age eight and earned a bit of buzz as a “child prodigy,” with two of his paintings purchased by celebrities. Now entering the prestigious halls of Harvard, he looks forward to dedicating serious studio time to cementing his dreams of being a professional artist. But then Chris meets his new roommate in Greenough Hall—Lucien Orsini-Conti, son of wealthy European diplomats—and his underprivileged and ordinary world begins to tilt on its axis.
Lucien is everything Chris is not: handsome, urbane, smooth with the ladies, and equipped with an endless bank account. Lucien immediately takes Chris under his wing, but only after bequeathing a new “nickname” for him…Atlas. As Atlas, Chris becomes an integral part of Lucien’s clique of preppy, pretentious, and privileged friends. Soon, he is rushing fraternities and social clubs and partying every night of the week. Lucien teaches him self-confidence with an unusual tactic—pretending to be someone else—and Atlas becomes Chris’s alter ego, of sorts. This takes on darker hues when Lucien learns of Atlas’s prodigy background and, in a gambit to earn much-needed cash, they partner up to paint and sell a forgery.
A dazzling character-driven story, Lucien tackles big themes—ambition, identity, the haves vs. the have-nots—without taking itself too seriously. The repartee between Lucien and his “rich douchebag” friends rings true as they compete to one-up each other in knowledge and throwing the wildest parties on- and off-campus. Atlas/Chris is a sympathetic and naïve character who fully trusts Lucien, despite nagging doubts best vocalized by the one girl he hopes to impress, Harriet. Harriet prefers Christopher to Atlas and warns him about the stories circulating about Lucien.
Thornton’s depiction of Ivy League life is entertaining, if unrecognizable, to most readers. Do kids still party this much in college? But the snappy dialogue, especially when used as an intricate dance between Chris and Harriet, is authentic and lively. Once Atlas is fully invested in the forgery scheme, the complications begin to escalate, as does Lucien’s erratic behavior and drug use. As Atlas tries to wrestle his future back from the grips of his friend, he must make life-altering decisions.
The narrative takes unusual turns, keeping the reader on their toes—just when you expect to go left, Thornton takes you right—and the insights into how forgeries are created are fascinating. The ending is a bit surprising as well, which is a credit to Thornton’s ability to steer the story’s innate dark academia tendencies toward human complexity and nuance.
Lucien is a precocious yet sizzling suspense story about art, truth, and the prohibitive cost of trying to be someone else. 
Born in London, J. R. Thornton graduated from Harvard College in 2014 where he studied history, English, and Chinese. An internationally ranked junior tennis player, he competed for Harvard and on the professional circuit. He was a member of the inaugural class of Schwarzman Scholars, obtaining an M.A. from Tsinghua University in Beijing. He now lives in Italy, working for AC Milan. Lucien is his second novel.
