This engaging and witty cultural history traces the evolution of the mirror from antiquity to the present day, illustrating its journey from wondrous object to ordinary trinket. With its earliest invention, the mirror allowed us to gaze upon ourselves, bestowing a power both fascinating and terrifying.

Sabine Melchior-Bonnet is an instructor at the College de France in Paris. This is her first work to be published in English.

Part One: The Origin of the Mirror Chapter 1: The Secret of Venice Chapter 2: The Royal Glass and Mirror and Glass Company Chapter 3: From Luxury to Necessity Part Two: The Magic of Resemblance Chapter 4: In the Semblance of God Chapter 5: The Triumph of Mimesis Chapter 6: Staring at the Self in Order to Imagine the Self Part Three: Troubling Strangeness Chapter 7: The Devil's Distorted Faces Chapter 8: Oblique Mirrors and Specular Trickery Chapter 9: Mirror Fragments Conclusion