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The School of Mirrors
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins
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Publisher's Summary
“A riveting epic, keenly observed and shining with lush historical detail. You’ll never forget this journey.”--Cara Black, New York Times bestselling author of Three Hours in Paris
“A sweeping tale of tumult and tragedy— intricate, absorbing, and impeccably depicted, The School of Mirrors will linger in your imagination long after you turn the last page.”--Ann Mah, bestselling author of Jacqueline in Paris
A scintillating, gorgeously written historical novel about a mother and a daughter in eighteenth-century France, beginning with decadence and palace intrigue at Versailles and ending in an explosive new era of revolution.
During the reign of Louis XV, impoverished but lovely teenage girls from all over France are sent to a discreet villa in the town of Versailles. Overseen by the King’s favorite mistress, Madame de Pompadour, they will be trained as potential courtesans for the King. When the time is right, each girl is smuggled into the palace of Versailles, with its legendary Hall of Mirrors. There they meet a mysterious but splendidly dressed man who they’re told is merely a Polish count, a cousin of the Queen. Living an indulgent life of silk gowns, delicious meals, and soft beds, the students at this “school of mirrors” rarely ask questions, and when Louis tires of them, they are married off to minor aristocrats or allowed to retire to one of the more luxurious nunneries.
Beautiful and canny Veronique arrives at the school of mirrors and quickly becomes a favorite of the King. But when she discovers her lover’s true identity, she is whisked away, sent to give birth to a daughter in secret, and then to marry a wealthy Breton merchant. There is no return to the School of Mirrors.
This is also the story of the King’s daughter by Veronique—Marie-Louise. Well-provided for in a comfortable home, Marie-Louise has never known her mother, let alone her father. Capable and intelligent, she discovers a passion for healing and science, and becomes an accredited midwife, one of the few reputable careers for women like her. But eventually Veronique comes back into her daughter’s life, bringing with her the secret of Marie-Louise’s birth. But the new King—Louis XVI—is teetering on his throne and it’s a volatile time in France…and those with royal relatives must mind their step very carefully.
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What listeners say about The School of Mirrors
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Performance
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- Barbara W.
- 05-10-22
Fascinating but pedophilia nonetheless.
The first section of the book is about Louis XV’s practice of having sex with children. I found that very hard to take. The remainder of the book is unrelentingly sad. I didn’t know much about this era but this book falls in line with what I did know so it all seems plausible,
I was not emotionally engaged with the characters as they seemed concocted rather than relatable or sympathetic. I did, however, appreciate the view of what the French Revolution must have been like for those unfortunate enough to live in France during the Reign of Terror.
I wish I liked at least a couple of the characters; I found the historical aspects of the novel to be much better than the subjects.
1 person found this helpful
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- Lucy L.
- 03-02-22
language barrier much
I found it hard to keep up with the characters simply due to the French pronunciation of every name sounding similar. It took me at least 4hours to figure out that 1 character was a woman, & that 2 were really 1-- author flips between just the 1st name or just the last name randomly it seems for a few characters.
never-ending & title-less chapters also made it hard to follow the timeliness initially.
Aside from my personal struggle, that had me rewinding whole chapters due to sudden disoriented feelings of being entirely lost in the story line, I found the story to be captivating. I just had to know what happened & so I listened till the end & I'm glad I did.
1 person found this helpful
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- BlanchedeCourtnay
- 04-04-23
Intriguing and revealing
Well researched. A story you will not find in history books. Happy someone took interest.
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- Janet Schreiber
- 02-27-23
I found the book very interesting and entertaining
I learned a lot about the French Revolution and the development of midwifery as a profession. It is a wonderful historical novel. Well done!
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- Julia
- 11-25-22
Enthralling
Just beautifully written and masterfully performed. Oh the joy when a “salacious” historical fiction book is actually a gorgeous novel. This book is about oppression (the starving of France, the sexual exploitation of young girls), generational trauma and healing, and perseverance. Would 1000% recommend to any French Revolution history buff looking for something from the perspective of the “lower” classes while still including some decadent Versailles stuff. Here I go to listen to all her books now…
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- Melissa
- 11-24-22
Interesting Drama
It took a while for me to really be interested son the book. It got better and better as it went on. Interesting story and I enjoyed the history at the end. Overall very good
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- HistoryNerd
- 08-21-22
Fascinating and Heartbreaking
Well crafted (and researched) story that is in turns both fascinating and heartbreaking, with a bittersweet ending. I also enjoyed the era (late 18th century) as it seems that historical fiction is dominated by WWII at the moment, and that’s not my cup of tea. The characters are all well drawn and distinct, which is also something that a lot of historical fiction novelists struggle with. I appreciate that the author included the sad and debauched chapter of Louis XV’s life where he went from being a hero amongst his people to being a middle aged roué and predator, even though young girls matured faster and often married sooner than they do now. Madame Pompadour’s culpability in the scheme is also disturbing—it’s sad to behold what people will do in order to maintain power.
Despite the weighty subject matter, there is triumph over adversity and while the ending is bittersweet, it is fitting and satisfying. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Stachniak’s work.
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- Laura
- 06-09-22
Can’t finish it
I just can’t get into this book. I find myself constantly needing to go back to try and make sense if it, unable to keep track of characters and at this point feel like I’m just forcing myself to try and finish it. I’ll give it another try maybe when I’m able to give it my full attention, like a plane or train ride.
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- Marija
- 10-10-22
Beautiful, intriguing story
An astonishing piece of history woven into a beautifully written story with rich characters. Fascinating how 300 years on the theme of wealth and power still looks and feels the same.
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When bookish young American Sylvia Beach opens Shakespeare and Company on a quiet street in Paris in 1919, she has no idea that she and her new bookstore will change the course of literature itself. Shakespeare and Company is more than a bookstore and lending library: Many of the prominent writers of the Lost Generation, like Ernest Hemingway, consider it a second home.
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a little much on the intimate details
- By LuckyL42 on 02-07-22
By: Kerri Maher
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The Winter Palace
- A Novel of Catherine the Great
- By: Eva Stachniak
- Narrated by: Beata Pozniak
- Length: 18 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Her name is Barbara - in Russian, Varvara. Nimble-witted and attentive, she’s allowed into the employ of the Empress Elizabeth, amid the glitter and cruelty of the world’s most eminent court. Under the tutelage of Count Bestuzhev, Chancellor and spymaster, Varvara will be educated in skills from lock picking to lovemaking, learning above all else to listen, and wait for opportunity. That opportunity arrives in a slender young princess from Zerbst named Sophie, a playful teenager destined to become the indomitable Catherine the Great.
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Not a bodice ripper!
- By Cookie on 01-13-12
By: Eva Stachniak
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The American Adventuress
- A Novel
- By: C. W. Gortner
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Daughter of famed financier Leonard Jerome, Jennie was born in New York City to wealth—and scandal. When her parents separated for reasons that were quickly hushed up, Jennie and her sisters followed their mother to Paris, where the city became their finishing school. Determined to marry her daughters into the most elite families, Mrs. Jerome draped them in the finest gowns by Worth and introduced them at Queen Victoria’s court.
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Jennie Gets Her Due
- By HistoryNerd on 05-14-23
By: C. W. Gortner
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The Bone Orchard
- By: Sara A. Mueller
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Charm is a witch, and she is alone. The last of a line of conquered necromantic workers, now confined within the yard of regrown bone trees at Orchard House, and the secrets of their marrow. Charm is a prisoner, and a survivor. Charm tends the trees and their clattering fruit for the sake of her children, painstakingly grown and regrown with its fruit: Shame, Justice, Desire, Pride, and Pain. Charm is a whore, and a madam. The wealthy and powerful of Borenguard come to her house to buy time with the girls who aren't real.
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Interesting and intense
- By Kimberly A. Minardi on 09-23-22
By: Sara A. Mueller
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Marvelous
- A Novel
- By: Molly Greeley
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 15 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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1547: Pedro Gonsalvus, a young boy living on the island of Tenerife, understands that he is different from the other children in his village. He is mercilessly ridiculed for the shiny layer of hair covering his body from head to toe. When he is kidnapped off the beach near his home, he finds himself delivered by a slave broker into the dangerous and glamorous world of France’s royal court. There “Monsieur Sauvage,” as he is known, learns French, literature, and sword fighting, becoming an attendant to the French King Henri II and a particular favorite of his queen.
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Marvelous!
- By adp on 05-23-23
By: Molly Greeley
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Empress of the Night
- A Novel of Catherine the Great
- By: Eva Stachniak
- Narrated by: Beata Pozniak
- Length: 18 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Perfect for fans of Hilary Mantel, Alison Weir, and Philippa Gregory, Empress of the Night is Eva Stachniak’s engrossing new novel, told in the voice of Catherine the Great as the Romanov monarch reflects on her ascension to the throne, her rule over the world’s greatest power, and the sacrifices that made her the most feared and commanding woman of her time.
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Good but not as "Great" as the first book
- By M&M on 04-22-14
By: Eva Stachniak
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The Paris Bookseller
- By: Kerri Maher
- Narrated by: Lauryn Allman
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When bookish young American Sylvia Beach opens Shakespeare and Company on a quiet street in Paris in 1919, she has no idea that she and her new bookstore will change the course of literature itself. Shakespeare and Company is more than a bookstore and lending library: Many of the prominent writers of the Lost Generation, like Ernest Hemingway, consider it a second home.
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a little much on the intimate details
- By LuckyL42 on 02-07-22
By: Kerri Maher
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Elsewhere
- A Novel
- By: Alexis Schaitkin
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Vera grows up in a small town, removed and isolated, pressed up against the mountains, cloud-covered and damp year-round. This town, fiercely protective, brutal and unforgiving in its adherence to tradition, faces a singular affliction: some mothers vanish, disappearing into the clouds. It is the exquisite pain and intrinsic beauty of their lives; it sets them apart from people elsewhere and gives them meaning.
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Dull & not for the childless
- By Kyrstin Lake on 07-16-22
By: Alexis Schaitkin
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The Bookshop of Second Chances
- A Novel
- By: Jackie Fraser
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Thea Mottram is having a bad month. She’s been let go from her office job with no notice - and to make matters even worse, her husband of nearly 20 years has decided to leave her for one of her friends. Bewildered and completely lost, Thea doesn’t know what to do. But when she learns that a distant great uncle in Scotland has passed away, leaving her his home and a hefty antique book collection, she decides to leave Sussex for a few weeks. Escaping to a small coastal town where no one knows her seems to be exactly what she needs.
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Perfect!
- By SmithFamily on 12-05-21
By: Jackie Fraser
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A Season for Second Chances
- By: Jenny Bayliss
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Annie Sharpe’s spark for life has fizzled out. Her kids are grown up, her restaurant is doing just fine on its own, and her 26-year marriage has come to an unceremonious end. Untethered for the first time in her adult life, she finds a winter guardian position in a historic seaside home and decides to leave her city life behind for a brand new beginning.
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loved it
- By Rona E. Berry-morin on 12-24-21
By: Jenny Bayliss
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Love and Fury
- A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft
- By: Samantha Silva
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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August, 1797. Midwife Parthenia Blenkinsop has delivered countless babies, but nothing prepares her for the experience that unfolds when she arrives at Mary Wollstonecraft’s door. Over the 11 harrowing days that follow, as Mrs. Blenkinsop fights for the survival of both mother and newborn, Mary Wollstonecraft recounts the life she dared to live amidst the impossible constraints and prejudices of the late 18th century, rejecting the tyranny of men and marriage, risking everything to demand equality for herself and all women.
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I couldn’t wait for this book to end…
- By Judy Lake Chessa on 05-15-22
By: Samantha Silva
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The Heiress
- The Revelations of Anne de Bourgh
- By: Molly Greeley
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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As a fussy baby, Anne de Bourgh was prescribed laudanum to quiet her, and now the young woman must take the opium-heavy tincture every day. Growing up sheltered and confined, removed from sunshine and fresh air, the pale and overly slender Anne grew up with few companions except her cousins, including Fitzwilliam Darcy. Throughout their childhoods, it was understood that Darcy and Anne would marry and combine their vast estates of Pemberley and Rosings. But Darcy does not love Anne or want her.
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Not a pleasant listen
- By Amazon Customer on 02-18-21
By: Molly Greeley
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A Dress of Violet Taffeta
- By: Tessa Arlen
- Narrated by: Hannah Curtis
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Lucy Duff Gordon knows she is talented. She sees color, light, and texture in ways few people can begin to imagine. But is the male dominated world of haute couture, who would use her art for their own gain, ready for her? When she is deserted by her wealthy husband, Lucy is left penniless with an aging mother and her five-year-old daughter to support. Desperate to survive, Lucy turns to her one true talent to make a living. A
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What an outstanding book!
- By Becki G on 05-27-23
By: Tessa Arlen