Eva Stachniak is an award-winning and internationally bestselling author of six novels. She holds a PhD in literature from McGill University. Born and raised in Poland, she moved to Canada in 1981, and lives in Toronto.
The School of Mirrors reviewed
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.
The School of Mirrors reviewed
THE SCHOOL OF MIRRORS REVIEWS
… 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.
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.
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.
