From my reader: “When I start one of your novels I know that you will take me to places where I haven’t been before. I can’t imagine the research that you must do to get all of the details right!! You make me feel that I am right there among your characters.
Eva, thank you for another wonderful read. “
… Stachniak’s lively style and plot twists keep the story moving, and we care deeply about her characters and their fates. The novel is textured with details surprising even to those who know French history and have visited Versailles. This is a compelling novel and very highly recommended.
Historical Novel Society: Editor’s Choice.
“THE SCHOOL OF MIRRORS is a scintillating and vibrant addition to literature on the French Revolution, and a reminder that women — even when silenced and hidden — have always been brave, powerful and important parts of history.
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Stachniak has researched every aspect of Parisian life in the 18th century. She weaves every detail — from clothing, food and even attitudes of the time — into gorgeous, shimmering prose with ease, and then elevates these details into stunning, lyrical history by placing women at its forefront.
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As she makes clear, women have always been at the heart of every political era, movement and uprising. Through the lives of Veronique and Marie-Louise, she reminds us how much women like them had at stake, not to mention how much they had to sacrifice.
Bookreporter Review by Rebecca Munro
Details about how clothes smelled, how hygiene was absent, how streets were piled with excrement and filth—all made this book almost like a verbal movie to me. I could see, and almost smell and even taste the words Stachniak put on paper.
The author … gives the characters life with pain and loss, hope and laughter. You will care about them and they will remain with you long after you close this book.
Penny A Parrish FOR THE FREE LANCE–STAR
Stachniak combines a delicately embroidered historical world with enduring situations, like the exploitation of the less fortunate and parent-child relationships. Her multifaceted approach also showcases Queen Marie Leszczyńska’s charity work and a fascinating cloth mannequin used to train midwives. The theme of illusion versus authenticity emerges in subtle ways. This accomplished novel should enthrall Francophiles and women’s history enthusiasts.
Booklist review
The book is not so much character-driven as plot-driven, but this is one of the few times where it works. The force of history, especially in times of revolution, is a powerful one. Even the great movers of the time, like Louis XVI and Robespierre, find themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control. Ordinary people, especially those at the edges of their societies (as women tend to be) are all too often even more marginalized.
Seattle Book Review... five star review
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