Eva Stachniak's Blog: On the absence of stories...

On the Canadian paperback release of The School of Mirrors here is my interview with Nina Rattner Gelbart whose research inspired my novel:

I’ve stumbled across The King’s Midwife; A History and Mystery of Madame du Coudray when I was researching my latest novel The School of Mirrors and needed some information on French midwifery in the 18th century. The book captivated me at once. Here was a story of, an extraordinary Enlightenment woman, an accredited midwife, an educator, an inventor of a teaching tool which can still be admired at the Musée Flaubert in Rouen. Knowing that Madame du Coudray had a place in my novel, I reached out to her biographer, Nina Rattner Gelbart.

ES: How did you come across Madame du Coudray?

NRG: I was doing research on little-known female journalists in the 18th century for my first book, a study of a periodical called Le Journal des Dames. In the 1700s there were quite a few collected biographies called Femmes célèbres, mostly about queens and royal mistresses, but also full of information on other important women of that time who were famous then but essentially forgotten today. Among them was this extraordinary midwife, commissioned by King Louis XV to travel around France teaching obstetrics. I turned up many mentions of her, saying that she had invented a mannequin, and written a textbook on birthing. The dates and other details in these mini-bios turned out to be all wrong, but the contours of an amazing story were there. I was fascinated, and decided that as soon as I was done with my book on the Journal des Dames I would learn more about Mme du Coudray. Much to my astonishment, I found that hardly anything had been written on her since her own time! So I sent inquiries to each of the 90-plus French departmental archives, asking if they had any documents on her. I could tell them what archival series to look in, because if she was sent by the king she would have had to be in touch with his minister of finance. Some archivist said no, some said maybe, but many said they had a rich supply. So, over the course of about 8 years—whenever I had free time from my professor job or a sabbatical semester or a summer—I traveled around France gathering and reading all traces of her I could find. Because her mission was official, that is because the king had recognized her talent and commissioned her to basically arrest infant mortality (!), hundreds of letters existed, to her, about her and by her. I was in heaven. There are hardly any women, especially in the 1700s, who left that kind of paper trail.

ES: How do you see her, you who have researched her life, immersed yourself in her work, her friendships, her achievements?

NRG: I was from the first, and still am, completely smitten. Madame du Coudray had a strong sense of self and, out of sheer guts and stamina, she invented a life-long patriotic and humanitarian mission to save babies for France. This was a job envisioned by her and then royally created for her, completely unprecedented. She persuaded the king that she had something unique to offer to the nation. She was a strong, tough person, but just imagine what she had to deal with as she moved from one French city to another, set up her operation, taught the huge number of very young women that the local parish priests had selected for her as potentially eager student midwives. Everywhere she went she had to deal with administrators appointed by the Court in Versailles, males of course, many of whom resented the trouble to which she put them and the need to accommodate a woman’s demands. And she was demanding! The house had to be equipped in particular ways, the teaching day needed a particular structure, and the location for lessons was almost always the city hall, where other administrative business was usually conducted but had to be put aside so she had the necessary time and space. Her intelligence, her courage, her way of dealing with obstacles thrown in her path, her perseverance—all this made me a huge admirer.

ES: The Machine. How revolutionary was it? How was it used as a teaching tool? What have you found in the archives about it? In my novel I reimagined Madame Du Coudray’s presentation of the Machine at Versailles … so I am particularly interested in your take on it.

NRG: The “machine” was absolutely revolutionary. Models of the female body existed before, of course, often in miniature and made of wood, stone, or ivory. But hers was life-size, and meant to be practiced upon, so built of strong yet pliable material. The internal structure was sometimes actual pelvic bone, but often a wicker frame, and it was covered in straw or upholstery and then a thick, durable outer fabric. There were vessels inside the mannequin that could hold water to imitate amniotic fluid, and of course there was the model of the fetus which could be placed in various positions to replicate difficult births—transverse, breech—that the practicing midwife might encounter and need to handle safely. The model was appreciated and approved by the Paris Faculty of medicine and the College of surgery, and Madame du Coudray and her team produced hundreds of these which got distributed everywhere she taught. A pristine model was always left to be permanently displayed in each town’s Hôtel de Ville, so that when the practice ones got damaged or worn out there would always be an intact replica showing how it should look when repaired. I understand there is now a replica of the Rouen original displayed in the Musée de l’Homme in Paris.

ES: Is Madame Du Coudray well known in France?

NRG: She is better known now than she was before. Until I visited the Musée Flaubert in Rouen—it is a history of medicine museum named for the novelist’s father who was a doctor—I didn’t even know there was an extant model. It was certainly not advertised! I was wandering through that museum and suddenly came upon it. I was so completely surprised that when I saw it I actually began to weep. I had worked with so many letters written by Madame du Coudray, but somehow standing in front of this amazing object, that she actually conceived of and sewed together herself, was unbelievably moving.

ES: You are not only the author of The King’s Midwife, but—most recently—of Minerva’s French Sisters described as : A fascinating collective biography of six female scientists in eighteenth-century France, whose stories were largely written out of history. How did they capture your attention?

NRG: I am always looking for the women in the Enlightenment. The French Revolutionary goal of “fraternité,” of brotherhood, always bothered me because we know there were women playing important instrumental roles in all aspects of political and intellectual life. But they are not talked about, Who were they? Where were they? In fact they can be found, but it takes a lot of determined sleuthing around. The anatomist in my new book, Mlle Biheron, was mentored by some of the same people who supported Madame du Coudray, so that was how I came across her. Then I learned of her partner, the botanist Mlle Basseporte at the Jardin du Roi. Then I learned of the field naturalist, Jeanne Barret who, disguised as man, got on Bougainville’s around-the-world voyage and collected flora from far-away lands that were then sent back to the Jardin. Through her I learned of the astronomer Mme Lepaute. I was led to the mathematician Mlle Ferrand and the chemist Thrioux d’Arconville through other channels. These six are by no means the only women doing serious science in France in the 1700s, but they were the ones about whom I was able to learn enough to really flesh out detailed stories of their works and days.


Nina Rattner Gelbart is professor of history and the Anita Johnson Wand Professor of Women’s Studies at Occidental College.

The School of Mirrors is set in 18th century Versailles (both palace and town) and Paris. To get a sense of the place, to walk in my characters' footsteps, I travelled to France in 2018

The Palace of Versailles was first on my list. It has, of course, been changing with time, but it was still possible to get a sense of being there during the reign of Louis XV.

Like all tourists I took the palace tour.
But, as much as I loved admiring the splendid interiors, I never forgot that my main characters were not part of the aristocracy. So, I paid attention to service doors, nooks meant for servants, or palace kitchens.

Getting glimpses of flat palace roofs, I found myself wondering how would a child get there to hide from nagging guardians and what would she find there? Stray cats, perhaps? Another lonely Versailles child?

The School of Mirrors

In the Versailles gardens, I peeked behind wooden lattice fences which wall off greenery from the manicured paths, for this is where I imagined a lonely child might have wanted to hide.

Writers make for VERY STRANGE TOURISTS!

The School of Mirrors will be released on February 22 in Canada (Doubleday) and the US (William Morrow.)

It is always a tense time, for the author, especially since the pandemic has made many in-person events impossible. It is a bit like letting your child move out, become independent. All a parent can do is to trust that the child is strong and resilient enough to succeed.

To learn more of the book please drop by my website http://www.evastachniak.com where you can listen to the beginning of the first chapter narrated by wonderful Ell Potter.

My mother did not tell me much...

And--if you live in Canada--you can enter a book giveaway and win a copy of The School of Mirrors.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

The School of Mirrors will be published in February 2022 in Canada (Penguin Random House) and the US (William Morrow). In my publishers’ words it is:

 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.

The novel is a departure from my previous books. Unlike the heroine of The Chosen Maiden, the mother and daughter in The School of Mirrors are imaginary characters, inspired by short mentions in 18th century sources. Most intriguing mentions, too, concerning a secret house in the town of Versailles and a midwife with a mission.

The secret house was Deer Park where Louis XV’s servants kept attractive lower-class girls to satisfy their master’s fleeting fancy. We know that the girls were brought to Deer Park ostensibly to be trained as ladies’ maids, told that their “master” was a Polish count, a cousin of the queen, who kept an apartment at Versailles. We know that they disappeared as swiftly as they appeared, married off or sent back home, their lives mostly lost to history.

The French midwife with a mission was Madame Angélique du Coudray who revolutionized French teaching of midwifery and empowered generations of young women, providing them with opportunities, they wouldn’t have otherwise had.

I hope you will reach for The School of Mirrors to find out how these two stories merged in my imagination. How my 18th century heroines—Deer Park girls, midwives, and revolutionary citizens—navigate the tumultuous years of the French Revolution that exposed their secrets, shook their world, and forced them to re-examine their place in it.

 The School of Mirrors

I grew up in Poland, in the rather grim 1950s and 60s, and books were the most reliable means of escape from the reality of the post war years. I think about this time often, now, when we are locked and limited in where we can go.

Reading was the greatest pleasure then, and the best escape. I read all the time, for as long as I could get away with. I read fairy tales, travel accounts, and all the classic books for children my local library had. This was the time of Mary Poppins, the Borrowers, Five Children and It, The Wind in the Willows, Anne of Green Gables, Tom Sawyer. Exciting, wonderful worlds I loved visiting, returning to, dropping by..

I've always read a lot, but now I read far more than before the pandemic. I read in English and in Polish, glad for any book that inspires, soothes, transports me into places where I cannot go.

And, of course, I write. For the future... for the time after...

The Chosen Maiden
Untitled

The Chosen Maiden

Since my new novel--yet UNTITLED-- has been scheduled to appear at the end of March 2021, it is time to say proper farewell to The Chosen Maiden, my fictional take on the life and passions of Bronia Nijinska, Vaslav Nijinsky's younger sister.

"I absolutely adored The Chosen Maiden!" wrote Veronica Tennant, legendary Canadian Prima Ballerina. "Such masterful, sensitive writing. I was immersed from the first page to the last."

My newest novel is almost out of my hands, scheduled for the end of March 2021 publication date. I still have to do some final page proofs, choose the cover, but Goodreads is already offering a wonderful description of what it is about:

A lush, engrossing tale of love, deception and scandal in the 18th century French court of King Louis XV.

Against the tumult of 18th century France, King Louis XV has tired of courtly intrigues and becomes a connoisseur of innocence. On the grounds of the Palace of Versailles lies Deer Park, a hunting ground that also offers another pleasure: a mansion where his young mistresses are housed. But when these girls first arrive at Deer Park, it is under the guise of a different role. They are promised employment in the household of a count, and, eager to improve their stations, they leave their families to serve him.

Veronique is one such girl. She is introduced to "the count," and young and naive as she is, she never doubts his identity. And as he begins to bestow affection on her, she quickly becomes consumed with love for him. It is too late when she realizes who he really is, the stakes of their affair and what she will have to give up to survive.

In vivid detail and with a breathless pace, Eva Stachniak captures the story of a fast-changing France, where the once beloved Louis XV is losing ground, his grandson the Dauphin Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette are sickening the country with their opulence and the French Revolution is stirring. It is in this France that Veronique's young daughter, Marie-Louise, will grow up searching for answers about her birth. With stirring insight and dazzling intrigue, this novel questions the true meaning of legacy.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

It is December, already. From wintery Toronto please accept my best wishes for the Holiday Season and the New Year.

Please click here:
www.evastachniak.com/2018/12/10/end-o...

for my The End of the Year Writing News, some rare archival photographs, and more.

Eva Stachniak

"Mine, I'll defend myself, is not a simple story,"

The Chosen Maiden

The Chosen Maiden was born out of my fascination with Ballets Russes, a Russian dance company which, in the summer of 1909, took Paris by storm, and fundamentally transformed Western notions of modern art. I wrote it because, after over 30 years in Canada, I’m still exploring the encounters between East and West, their exhilarating possibilities and illuminating setbacks. My heroine, Bronislava (Bronia) Nijinska, the intended Chosen Maiden from the 1913 production of The Rite of Spring choreographed by her famous brother Vaslav, was a brilliant dancer and a ground-breaking choreographer. The tantalizing relationship between Bronia and Vaslav is one of the novel’s main themes. Another is a life fuelled by a passion for art and lived in between cultures, languages and ideologies, against the backdrop of bloody political upheavals – two world wars and the Russian Revolution. With the Nijinsky men gone – by choice or tragic fate – it’s the women who pick up the pieces. For me this makes The Chosen Maiden both personal and universal. Personal for it evokes the spirit of the Polish women who raised me, brave and nurturing, determined to wrench the slightest sliver of happiness from the hardest of times. Universal, for I see the very same spirit anywhere where women know that the survival of their families depends on them.

Here is a short excerpt from a live reading from The Chosen Maiden at the University of Toronto literary evening.

"We are the Nijinsky children...."


https://youtu.be/cZcVJ-JBVDk?list=PL8...