How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?Visit Eva Stachniak's website.
For a long time, I called the novel Deer Park after the mysterious house in the town of Versailles where Louis XV’s courtiers groomed young, lower-class girls for the king’s sexual pleasure. But as the novel grew and expanded in scope, the title became too restrictive. The School of Mirrors opened it up. It played on the theme of deceit and illusion in the corridors of Versailles, but also the deceptive fantasies that ruled the streets of Paris during the heady years of the French Revolution. Mirrors reflect, entice, but they can also force us to confront what we do not want to see.
What's in a name?
There are two heroines in the novel, mother and daughter, separated at birth and searching for each other all their lives. The mother’s name is Veronique, which...[read on]
The Page 69 Test: The Chosen Maiden.
Q&A with Eva Stachniak.
--Marshal Zeringue
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