An excellent portrayal of 18th century France, focusing on the women of the time. It took some time to get used to jumping between character viewpoints at first and understanding their importance, but about 15% of the way through it, everything flowed well and it all started to come together.

There are elements of history that are often overlooked, such as the roles illegitimate children of monarchs would do. We also get a look at midwifery at the time, as well as the way young girls were treated when they would become mistresses of the King and end up pregnant.

If you love historical fiction, this is certainly a book for you.

What a fascinating story. This follows the story of a young girls taken from a poor background and groomed to become a... plaything would be the only way to describe it... of Louis XV. These were actual girls. To say this is a horrifying idea barely touches on the idea that this happened. That the chasm between the rich and the poor was so great that the entire court would condone such behaviour.

But that is really not what this story is about. This is personal, and real. This is the what if of one of those girls. The "how would that feel". The question of what you would do. How you would behave coming from such a poor background. Would you try to please just to stay safe and not wind up back in poverty?

Really interesting story.

It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great. I really didn’t like how the mentions of rape and the depravity of the court were just glossed over expecting the reader to think it as normal for the times. Even in her commentary at the end she didn’t even mention the horror of it and what life was for these girls. This book needs to seriously go over how it addressed rape and the trauma that comes with it and with having your child forcibly removed. Instead it glosses over it and tries to spin it as acceptable and not that big a deal. Also she refers to a street as that de la revolution before the revolution happens.

The School of Mirrors, set in 18th century France, is an extraordinary look at courtly intrigues and life in France mostly told from the perspectives of two young women. What makes this read so captivating is the innocence of these young girls who are constantly being manipulated and exploited first by the monarchy, the French Revolution and finally the French First Republic.

The first half of the book follows the life of Veronique, an élève at Deer Park. While this is mostly told from her perspective, there are a few key characters who also provide insight into palace life. Veronique is sweet and so childlike. She wants to please everyone and impress upon others that she is talented and well skilled. In many ways she is driven to be successful and impress upon the Polish count that she is deserving of his attention. Much of this drives comes from the fear of being rejected and thrown out of Deer Park, because where would she go after that? The fear is crippling. While I loved this part of the book, I did find the many perspectives a bit confusing in the beginning as I was trying to settle into the flow of the book. But what kept me glued to the pages of this book was Veronique, from beginning to end.

In the second half of the book we meet Marie-Louise, Veronique’s daughter. She is a spirited child who creates the most fantastical stories of her parents and where they might be and why haven’t they come for her yet.

The driving force behind this story is if the mother and daughter will ever meet and how will this reunion look like during the tumultuous times of the French Revolution where anyone could be an enemy.

Marie-Louise is a funny and clever girl, who is trained to be a midwife by her Aunt Margot. Marie Louise lives a fascinating life and seeing the fall of the last king of France and the rule of the First French Republic from her eyes and how it has impacted life in France is what makes this a spectacular read.

The House of Mirrors brings to life court secrets of exploiting young girls during a time of poverty and high mortality rates in 18th century France. It gives voice to the voiceless and yet concludes with the kind of hope and optimism that is needed for a story set in such times of devastation.

Many thanks to @NetGalley and @penguinerandomhouse for my digital review copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of The School of Mirrors by Eva Stachniak.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loved French Revolutionary History. The writing is beautiful and you can tell an amazing amount of research went into the writing of this book. The story follows Veronique who is tricked into thinking that she will be a serving girl, when in reality she is being trained under Madame de Pompadour. When she becomes pregnant at 14es discovered the identity of the man she was sleeping with , she is taken away and married off to a merchant. The second part of the story follows her daughter, who is training to be a midwife and wants to find out who her parents truly are.

This was a great book! I liked the main characters and I don’t really have any complaints about the book. I will definitely picked up the book about Catherine the Great by this author.

Firstly, thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

To start out with the pros: I loved the writing style, and felt very immersed in the book overall. I appreciated that each time a role was introduced, it was quickly explained allowing me (someone who doesn't read a lot of historical fiction) to feel like I was a part of the world. The first half of the story was awesome, and the pacing was steady - I enjoyed following Veronique so much. While others have commented that the changing perspectives were difficult; I felt like we really only had "audience" and Veronique - which I could easily tell apart.
Now to the cons: In the second half of the book (when we moved into the daughter's perspective and left Veronique behind) I felt like we entered a new book with a different agenda. Time leaps were sometimes MASSIVE and while some stories were sprinkled in it felt like we were trying desperately to get to a time period the author had in mind. Further, I felt extremely disconnected from this 'second cast of characters'. Lastly, the end left something to be desired.

I did not read this novel and could not review it as it was not in Kindle format. I could not provide an accurate rating based on this.

This magnificent book is a must-read for everyone who enjoys well-written, meticulously researched historical fiction. Many novels have been set in 18th century Versailles, but only Eva Stachniak could do something as refreshing and original as The School of Mirrors. She writes from the perspective of two women. The first is Veronique, an impoverished girl who thinks she's got a job as a maid for a Polish count but in reality has been brought to Versailles to be groomed to pleasure Louis XV. The second part of the novel is seen from the eyes of Marie-Louise, Veronique's daughter with the king, who is taken from her at birth and raised at Versailles without knowing who her parents are. This novel is very much about the lives of women during the last days of the French monarchy and during the throes of the French Revolution. An absorbing masterpiece.
#netgalley #evastachniak

Lured away from home under false pretenses, 13-year-old pauper, Veronique Roux, believes with excitement that she’s gained employment in the home of a Polish count. She’s taken to Deer Park on the grounds of Versailles and, along with a couple of other girls, groomed under the watchful eye of Madame de Pompadour, King Louis XV’s mistress. Veronique becomes a “little bird” for her ‘Polish count’ and is called upon to serve his needs at ‘his room’ in the palace. It doesn’t take long before she believes she’s in love with him and eagerly anticipates his nightly invitation. It all comes crashing down around her when it’s discovered that she’s pregnant at 14 years old.

Marie-Louise has been raised locally and has access to the palace at Versailles, but despite all her efforts, never discovers the truth about her parents’ identity. Taken under the tutelage of a Parisian midwife, Marie-Louise is offered a tremendous opportunity and works tirelessly to improve birthing during the tumultuous French Revolution. Her path crosses that of Veronique Roux and in possession of the very thing she searched for her whole life, she’s forced to keep it to herself as exposing the secret will endanger both of their lives.

Wonderfully imagined and beautifully written, this tale will envelop readers and allow them to experience the whole range of emotions from disgust to excitement as Veronique and Marie-Louise forge a path for themselves in uncertain times. Readers will be reminded that people in every era in history have had secrets and losses to bear; the Roux family is no different. A visceral and meticulously researched novel, this needs to be on every historical fiction lover’s reading list.

Inspired by a few pages from Madame de Pompadour’s diary and a real life heroine, Madame Angelique du Coudray, Polish Canadian historical novelist, Eva Stanchniak, has written a beautiful novel exposing 18th century heroines; the Deer Park girls, the midwives of Paris, and the revolutionary citizens. She sets this against the backdrop of revolutionary France.

I was gifted this advance copy by Eva Stanchniak, Penguin Random House Canada, Doubleday Canada and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.