Mirrored World, The (P.S.): A Novel - Softcover

Debra Dean

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061231460 ISBN 13: 9780061231469

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2013

Synopsis

Xenia is a free spirit who seems blessed with second sight: her cousin Dasha is more cautious and sensible. When the two come out into society, Dasha watches from afar as her friend plunges into marriage and motherhood. But when a tragic vision comes true, Xenia withdraws into grief and undergoes a profound transformation. She gives away all her possessions to the poor, and then vanishes. In this elegantly written tale, Dean re-imagines the intriguing life of Xenia of St. Petersburg, one of Russia's most mysterious and beloved holy figures.

About this title

Review:

'Dean's novel grows more profound and affecting with every page.' - Booklist

'Debra Dean's slim novel is a heartrending reconstruction of St. Xenia's early life, told through the eyes of her doting cousin Dasha... In its simplicity of style and gentle melancholia, this small book packs a powerful punch.' --- Daily Mail

From the Back Cover:

St. Petersburg, 1736. Dasha and Xenia are cousins and devoted friends growing up in the shadow of royal society. On the night they make their debut at court, Xenia falls madly in love with a charismatic singer in the empress's imperial choir. They marry and settle into a contented family life.

But on a snowy winter night, tragedy shatters their dreams, plunging Xenia into an abyss of grief. Pulling away from everyone, including her dear friend, she begins giving away her possessions to the poor. Then one day she disappears...until eight years later, when Dasha hears rumors of a soothsayer and healer in St. Petersburg's slums, dressed in a ragged military uniform, who answers only to her husband's name.

Told in Dasha's compelling voice, The Mirrored World vividly captures a darkly glittering world of imperious empresses, ice palaces, holy fools, and Italian castrati--a world of unparalleled extravagance for the few and desperate squalor for the multitudes. What causes one privileged young woman to cross that divide, to give up all her possessions and become one of the homeless people whom she has served? Is it devotion or delusion? The novel illuminates the blessings of friendship, the limits of reason, and the costs of loving deeply.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0061231460
• ISBN 13: 9780061231469
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272