Louise Gault, a longtime Doubleday editor, died in a New York City hospital May 23 after a long battle with cancer. She was 68. Gault worked at Doubleday for 25 years and during that time published many notable books on ballet, opera and cooking. Her books included Clive Barnes's Nureyev and the bestselling Pavarotti: My Story, written when the singer was comparatively unknown. She also edited books with such stars as Sophia Loren and Princess Grace. Her cookbooks included James Beard's The Great Cooks Cookbook and the Doubleday Basic Cookbook by Rene Verdon.