Through a Brazen Mirror - Softcover

Sherman, Delia

3.41

150 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1885865244 ISBN 13: 9781885865243

Publisher: Circlet Press, 2015

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Through a Brazen Mirror is the third book in The Ultra Violet Library, Circlet's imprint of fantasy and science fiction by/for/about lesbian/gay/bi folk. Originally published in 1989 by mass market publisher Ace, the book was marketed as generic sword and sorcery and, in the way of mass market books, disappeared from sight shortly thereafter, before it had a chance to reach an audience who would appreciate its themes.

Based on an ancient Anglo-Scots ballad called "The Famous Flower of Serving Men" (a magical, tragic tale about a young woman who disguises herself as a man after the murder of her husband), Through a Brazen Mirror tells the tale of the witch Margaret, her daughter Elinor, King Lionel, and the extraordinary William Flowers, who saves the king from doom and Margaret's malevolent magic. With much richness of detail and folklore, Sherman uses the tale to explore issues of attraction, loyalty, and gender identity. For William is Elinor, who as William bonds with the young king and takes charge of a fate that was to be her undoing.

The book, though it takes place in a fictional kingdom, is no cleaned-up fairy tale, and presents a historical picture of life circa 1400. In an age when women are not taught to read or write, both Margaret, as an evil schemer, and Elinor, who must take on a man's name and countenance, fight for their self-determination, each in her own way.

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From the Publisher:

"Brazen Mirror" is fantasy at its finest
THROUGH A BRAZEN MIRROR has just shipped from our warehouse on June 1, 1999 and we here at Circlet Press are very excited to bring this book back into print. When it first appeared in 1989, in mass market from Ace, the world just wasn't ready for a historically accurate fantasy where gender-crossing and queerness interact subtly with the milieu. Let me quote from the introduction by Ellen Kushner (author of Swordspoint, and Thomas The Rhymer):

"Here was a medieval country, not quite 13th century England, but dense with the sensual textures of the past: sweeping cloaks, the smell of herbs crushed underfoot, the fire glowing in the hearth at midnight... and here were all the ingredients of a great romance: honest, hard-won love, a gentle knight, a woman wronged, an enchantress who wreaks a terrible vengeance, and a heroic young king...

And nothing was quite like what we'd been led to expect from all those other books with similar ingredients. The woman was not beautiful. She valued usefulness over heroism, knowledge over power. And the young king's love was given to other men.

...the best fantasy gets to the bottom of reality in ways no contemporary tale of suburban angst ever can. Queer readers know this, and always have....

So take this "fantasy" and honor it as a great Queer novel about transgression, about reversal, about painful families and untold secrets... and the triumphant transformation that can come with giving it all a big kiss on the mouth."

This is a finely crafted novel, great writing, wonderful characters, intense magic. I hope you enjoy it. -- Cecilia Tan, publisher

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