The Mirror Makers

by Clare Colvin

Louis XIV, at the height of his powers and grandiose ambitions, dreams of constructing a great Hall of Mirrors in the palace of Versailles. But the only craftsmen who know the secret are in Murano, prisoners of the Venetian Republic. The promise (via Louis XIV's controller of finances, Jean-Louis Colbert) of riches, adventure, a new life, prompts Allegri and a renegade group of mirror-makers, to risk not only his father's wrath but the severest punishment by the Venetian authorities.

In the Sun King's Court, a renegade mirror maker enticed from Venice, Andrea Allegri finds himself in a world where the image is all, and nothing is as it seems. He Quickly falls under the spell of the beautiful and demanding Athenais de Montespan, who exerts her influence over the King by dangerous means.

Against the background of the building of the Palace of Versailles, the characters play out their roles of love and deception, in thrall to the charisma of the monarch with absolute power.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical

406 pages, Paperback

First published June 5, 2003

About the author

Clare Colvin is a novelist, short story writer and critic. She is the author of three novels: The Fatal Season, Masque of the Gonzagas and The Mirror Makers. Her short stories have been published in a number of anthologies, with her latest in the Serpent’s Tail anthology, Getting Even.

She works as a literary critic for the Daily Mail and the Independent, and has been a theatre critic for The Times. She is currently opera critic for the Sunday Express.

She has taught creative writing at Richmond Adult Community College, Goldsmiths College and at Birkbeck, University of London.

Reviews

[Dawn (& Ron) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copy of one of my first reviews

Offering an intriguing glimpse behind closed doors during the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV, and his glittering court. Andrea Allegri is lured from the island of Murano, where the secrets of the best mirror makers are closely guarded, with a group of mirror makers. This is an act of treason according to the Venetian government. King Louis for his new mirror makers' "personal safety" keeps them as virtual prisoners of the factory and compound. But Andrea, unlike his fellow workers, is allowed more freedom since he has to make the exacting measurements and designs necessary for the placement of the mirrors, which are the rave of the French aristocracy. This allows him, access to the halls and bedrooms of the French palaces where he quickly sees and becomes infatuated with Athenais de Montespan which leads to being pulled into her duplicitous machinations including her mystical dealings with the occult.

The story easily alternates between characters, mainly Allegri, de Montespan and her maid Claudine. Colvin craftily weaves from the King performing his duty to the Queen, then smoothly jumping into bed with his current mistress, Mademoiselle de La Valliere (at a later point he again performs his duty to the Queen, then happily visits his new mistress followed by his original mistress or vice versa) and on to the one upmanship between himself and his brother, Monsieur, which leads to the building of Versailles. Colvin shines (pun intended) in her descriptions of mirror making and alludes to what we now know to be mercury poisoning and cleverly uses this as plot device. The excess and pageantry of the Sun King are wonderfully displayed. She at times almost playfully shows the reader that Louis and his brother felt it was there God given right to get what they want when they wanted it. Then quickly and affectingly shift to show the poignant absurdity and waste of their desires. From the ground up we are able to watch Versailles being built not only through the eyes of Monsieur de la Glace, Allegri, but also through designer and painter, Charles Le Brun, architect Louis Le Vau, landscape architect Andre Le Notre and fountain maker Francesco Francini. To further enhance your reading of the building of Versailles, you can follow along online by looking up contemporary sketches and current photographs to accompany the text. This certainly added to the read for me.

It felt like the author tried to go into too many directions. For example, there is a storyline where Andrea convinces the King to allow him to experiment with ways mirrors could be used as weapons, but this goes no where and doesn't add to the story. Some of the characters are flat, two dimensional. Maybe this was intended to be on a grander scale and the problems are due to choppy editing. Overall this is a light, enjoyable historical fiction read filled with deception, betrayal, manipulation, poisoning, scheming, romantic interludes and extravagance and a glance into a time period not often covered.

[Chicco Padovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stavo cercando un romanzo storico sulla fuga dei mastri vetrai di Murano da Venezia per la costruzione della Galleria degli Specchi di Versailles, e ho trovato questo. La vicenda del giovane Andrea Allegri, artigiano italiano realmente esistito, s’intreccia qui all'ascesa e al declino di Madame de Montespan, celebre amante del re sole, e al famoso ‘Affaire des poisons’, che la vide protagonista. Un libro che scorre piacevolmente, con il giusto equilibrio fra ricostruzione storica e vicenda narrata. Per gli amanti di quel periodo è una chicca.

[Ayelet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the book fairly quickly but wasn't interested in what was happening. I didn't care about what happened to any of the characters. I did like the very end. There were too many words that I didn't know because they were either archaic or French. Also, it should be Mirror Maker, singular, because Andrea is the only one that is involved with the main plot.

[Katie Jackman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is quite a fun book about the building of Versailles and the romps and intrigues of the workers and the Royal Court as they become intertwined. It’s a simple read, and when it got to the sex scenes and proceeded to use the words “his member” I cringed wholeheartedly! Not a great piece of literature, but fun nevertheless.

[ms.pilesofpaper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ich hatte mir einen historischen Roman erhofft, der die Spiegelmacher von Murano behandelt. Stattdessen ist man mit einem Spiegelmacher in Paris gelandet, wo der Spiegelsaal für den Sonnenkönig erstellt werden soll. So weit, so gut. Leider entwickelte sich das Buch immer mehr und mehr zu einer schlechten Liebesgeschichte. Das Ende ist ein wenig unerwartet (der Epilog), aber sonst ... naja.

Es sind viele französische und italienische Sätze zu finden, die NICHT übersetzt sind. Man übersetzt einige Wörter, die angeblich wichtig wären fürs Verständnis, aber ganze Sätze bleiben einfach unübersetzt und man muss sich die Bedeutung selbst zusammen reimen oder aber man lässt es sich übersetzen im Internet. So oder so ist das ein Faux-pas, da man nicht davon ausgehen kann, dass jeder Mensch Französisch oder Italienisch spricht.

Was mich noch sehr gestört hat: jede Figur ist irgendwie hübsch. Vorallem die Guten. Die Bösen sind hässlich oder wenig ansehnlich. Aber der Rest ist hübsch. Wie Engel, wie Heilige, wie wasauchimmer. Ich kann mir schwerlich vorstellen, dass die Menschen früher schön waren, wo man es mit der Hygiene nicht so genau nahm (schwarze Zähne, Flöhe, Parfüm statt Bäder, ...) und die Ernährung in der Bevölkerung eher mau war und am Hofe unausgewogen und ungesund.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book mixed historical facts about the mirror makers of the Island of Murano (Venice) with an intriguing romantic story. Our hero decides he will go to Paris and reveal the secrets of mirror making to King Louis IV, even though in doing so he can be tried for treason according to Venetian law. He certainly doesn't expect all the adventures and dangerous situations he must encounter.
I enjoyed the style of writing and the story line was easy to follow.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book, this went in a few different directions. The environment around the construction of Versailles was beautifully constructed, although I think having visited there would be an advantage to have a real feel for the story.

The characters were interesting and complex and their journeys often surprising.

[Jacquie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. There were several different aspects which were quite fascinating - the methods used to make mirrors and the building of the palace of Versailles, and of course, the society of the court of the Sun King. If you enjoy historical fiction then this one is worth a look.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting fiction crafted around the construction of the mirrored palace in Versailles. The relationship between King Louis and his various mistresses was interesting, not sure about the ending, though.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting as it was set in the times of when the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles was constructed, so it was interesting historically and scientifically about mirror making. An easy read.

[Sarah Housknecht · Rating 2 out of 5]

Learning about the mirror making for the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles was the only part that made the book "ok" for me. Did not care for the rest...