The School of Mirrors

Stachniak (The Winter Palace) offers an impressive if schematic story of Versailles and Paris in the years leading up to and following the French Revolution. In 1755, 13-year-old Véronique Roux is surrendered by her widowed mother to an aide of King Louis XVI, who transports her to Deer Park, where underage girls are groomed to sexually service the king. After Véronique gives birth to the king’s daughter, Marie-Louise, the newborn is taken away and Véronique is married off to a wealthy merchant. As a girl, Marie-Louise is shuffled from household to household into the care of various guardians, first in Versailles and then in Paris, always wondering about her origins. She trains as a midwife, marries, watches the dissolution of the monarchy and, eventually, learns about her lineage. Stachniak has clearly done her research on life both in the royal court and on the streets of Paris, and though the fictional characters often seem too passive, the author smoothly integrates their stories with those of historical members of the royal family, as well as revolutionary George Danton. Overall, Stachniak successfully immerses readers in a tumultuous era of French history. Agent: Helen Heller, Helen Heller Agency. (Feb.)