The School of Mirrors by Eva Stachniak

Do you like reading about lesser-known female historical figures?  Eva Stachniak’s The School of Mirrors is a great look at the juxtaposition of classes in eighteenth-century Versailles France.  We are shown a woman living in poverty, Veronique, a middle-class woman Marie-Louise, and royalty Queen Marie.  The book starts with Louis XV and his fetish for underage girls.  The King’s favorite mistress, Madame de Pompadour starts the Hall of Mirrors where a Polish count is visiting Deer Park. Lebel aka Monsieur Durand takes thirteen-year-old Veronique “for a better life” which she thinks will be working in a fancy house.  Instead, she’s to be schooled for the Hall of Mirrors to service Louis aka the Polish count.  Veronique is impressed with the luxurious silk gowns, exquisite meals, and opulent soft beds. Things go well for Veronique but then she discovers Louis's identity and she is taken away.  She is pregnant and gives birth to a daughter.  They take the little girl away from Veronique.  The little girl Marie-Louise is told her mother abandoned her. Marie-Louise then meets Queen Marie thanks to her skills as a midwife. At that time in France, Madame du Coudray had started teaching midwifery across France which was really interesting.  The book is sad at times, but it shows the strength and empathy three different women each from a different financial and social class endure and survive.  At the end of the story, the French Revolution is starting.  I loved the story of Marie-Louise, especially the midwifery professional development.  It was a great historical fiction with a concentration on the middle class which I had not read about before.  I liked how the book didn’t focus on Louis’ sexual fetiches but instead on the women.  I didn’t think Veronique’s story was really needed but did add the mother/daughter dynamic to the story.  The interchanging narrators were confusing to me at first but I caught on 1/3 of the way through the book.  If you love historical fiction and want to read a perspective on the middle class in France pre-French Revolution, you’ll love this.