Conville & Walsh Ltd

MIRROR MIRROR
Maria Alvarez
Conville & Walsh Ltd
Fiction
Patrick Highsmith meets David Lynch in this psychological thriller
Christabel is the wife of a wealthy but absentee surgeon and she suffers from an unidentifiable neuropsychological
disorder which means she is unable to continue her work in an art gallery. Feeling
alienated as a result of her unhappy childhood and unable to connect with her distant father she hides
away in her half-finished house where she is becoming increasingly and dangerously isolated. So
when an apparently chance encounter with Tina, a younger woman who works at the local bar,
triggers the start of an unusual friendship, their growing bond appears to offer Christabel the chance
to re-connect with the world around her.
As Christabel and Tina’s friendship develops into a haze of forbidden substances and unsettling
desires, more and more boundaries are broken between them. When events finally begin to spiral out
of control Christabel’s hidden past and lack of insight into the decisions she has made about her life
finally collide, with devastating results.
In MIRROR, MIRROR Alvarez explores the nature of sexuality, friendship and betrayal and offers fresh
insights into how our identities are forged and how dangerous it can be to give oneself up to 'the
other'.
Maria Alvarez has written for the Telegraph, Guardian, Sunday Times, Vogue, Tatler and TLS. She is
currently working on a second novel and a non-fiction project.
UK Publisher Fig Tree/Penguin
UK Publication June 2007
Status Manuscript
Length 80,000 words
Agent CBC
All rights available excluding UK & Commonwealth
3