A Mirror of Shadows

by Dorothy Daniels

A Mirror of Shadows Paperback – 1977 by Dorothy Daniels (Author)

Genres: Gothic

448 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 21, 1977

About the author

According to a mini-biography, accompanied by a photograph, on the rear cover of one of her many gothic novels, Dorothy Daniels was born in Connecticut but by the time she was a full-time writer, in the middle 1960's, was living in California. She was initially an English teacher at a state college but later wrote articles that appeared in national magazines, which led to her career as a writer of mostly gothic paperbacks. Lancer books, which published more than twenty of her novels, proclaimed her "America's Most Popular Gothic Novelist" while Pocket Books claimed her gothic novels had sold over eleven million copies by the middle 1970's. Her approximately 146 novels were published by a dozen paperback publishers, some had as many as four printings while others were printed only once. Lancer and Warner Books together published more than sixty of her novels. The vast majority of her novels were written in the first person and this was a trademark of sorts with Dorothy Daniels, as she rarely strayed from this pattern. Several of her novels take place in the Old South. Her novels were also considerably more involving plot-wise and contained more character development than other gothic novels. She published her last gothic novel, "House of Silence", in late 1980. Afterward she wrote a handfull of historical romances and her last published novel appears to be "Crisis at Valcour" in 1985.
The aforementioned photograph on the rear cover of her 1965 book "Cliffside Castle" contradicts some claims that Dorothy Daniels was male, and at least one internet website's author insists that Dorothy Daniels was actually a man named Paul Hugo Little who lived in Chicago and wrote over 700 books under at least a dozen pseudonyms. We may never know for certain who Dorothy Daniels was. Several of her gothic paperbacks, credited to Dorothy Daniels or Suzanne Somers, were copyrighted by Norman Daniels. She published one novel, "House of False Faces", under the pseudonym Helen Gray Weston, but this book was later reissued as "Dorothy Daniels writing as Helen Gray Weston". She wrote three nurse romance books in addition to her many gothic novels.

Also wrote under the names:
Angela Gray
Cynthia Kavanaugh
Helaine Ross
Suzanne Somers
Geraldine Thayer
Helen Gray Weston

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Sarah Mac · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wherefore art thou, Victoria Holt? We've got ourselves a genuine goffick turkey.



The premise behind Maeve's insta-love with Joel (and then her secondary lurve for her second husband) was utterly ridiculous. I'm ready & willing to swallow doofy WTFery when it comes to gothic romance -- truly, nobody can love this genre without expecting the occasional plot chuckle -- but the entire plot hinging on Queen Maeve's mirror was daft. Rarely have I read such a pathetic excuse for dumping character development to the wayside. Observe these knuckleheads in all their glory:

MAEVE: It is decreed I will love this man I saw in the mirror. Therefore I will love him.
MAEVE'S DAD: The mirror is a totally legit way to find your mate, because it happened to me & your mother & your entire family line.
MAEVE: Look, it's the man I saw in my vision!
JOEL: I love you so much. I want to marry you. I've known you 30 seconds & we're destined to be together.
MAEVE: Zomg, I love you too! I haz a mirror. It tells me stuff.
JOEL: I am totally okay with this mirror dictating my life. Oops, wait...someone is shooting at us.
MAEVE: An agent of evil is trying to kill my one true love!
JOEL: Nah, it was just an accident.
MAEVE: Aye, sure & you're right. I'm Irish, see?
JOEL: I'm American. I'm rich as sin. I've got no job & no plan to get one.
MAEVE'S DAD: Lolz. How about you become a doctor? We could use the help around here.
JOEL: I've never even read a book about medicine, but what does that matter? I can totally wrap casts & hand out herbal tea. You're my new family.
MAEVE: The mirror picked such a noble, selfless husband for me to adore. Thank you, blessed mirror!

...Seriously?



Nonsensical mirror aside, the writing was absolute rubbish. Entire passages served no purpose whatsoever. The characters were flatter than flat, the dialogue was wooden, & the suspense was hammy with no sense of urgency. Brief scenes were strung together with an array of time gaps, while conversations jerked around with sad attempts at humor while they repeatedly discussed the same handful of topics over & over. Seriously, why must we rehash Cathal's hopeless lurve for Maeve, or have it explained that Maeve's father is a believer in the magic mirror, or suffer Maeve's warbling over a vague vision of her father's impending demise, or be reminded that her matriarchal family is decended from mythical queens? (Yeah, I got it the first 8 times.) This book takes 'padding your page count' to epic heights.

A heaping plate of DNF. I know Dorothy Daniels (a husband/wife team, IIRC?) has a cult following, but if this is anything to go on...

Nope.

[Mermarie · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's so damned easy to fulfill a character's entire experience with a mirror to do her courting & all of her decision making for her. It's a sad premise to make the characters & storyline arrive on your doorstep than the characters actually going out into the world to live their lives for themselves.

A no, a resounding NO.

[Cindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had heard this was a good author but I found the reading repetitive and just above a history romance. I was disappointed.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a different style from all of the other books that I have read by this author. All the same, it was wonderful. I could not put it down. I also learned a bit of fascinating history while reading it. I'm not exactly sure how to classify its genre, though some label it as gothic romance. I guess it does have some of those elements, but it feels more like something else. The story is about Maeve O'Hanlon, a descendant of Queen Maeve of Ireland. It begins telling of a mirror that is passed on to the women descendants of the Queen. This mirror has the power to show the future, but only to the women in the direct line of Queen Maeve. Miss O'Hanlon sees visions of her future husband and daughter, along with tragedies ahead. The mirror helps to protect her from the ruthless evil family of her future husband. Great story!