Dancing with Kings

An alluring, exotic novel set in the late eighteenth century, based on the life of the famous and much-painted courtesan, La Belle Phanariote.

Young, beautiful, fallen, Sophie Glavani has brought shame on her family. She realises that she must now learn the art of seduction in order to survive in turbulent times.

Her beauty and charm are so great that the world is entranced. Men are driven to madness, women moved to jealousy. She leads the King of Poland in the Polonaise.

Now, dying and surrounded by her family, Sophie relives her life's dance for the final time. Her journey from fallen woman to Countess, the men she has captivated, the hearts she has broken. Eva Stachniak creates a brilliant eighteenth-century world and weaves a compelling tale of a courtesan's love, her life and her death.

Brilliantly written, cleverly constructed with a strong cast of characters, both real and fictional, and vivid scenes, Dancing with Kings is an alluring, sensuous and exotic saga.

Reviews

‘The telling is engaging – at times riveting – leaving behind a visceral sense of a woman's arduous life …Stachniak writes with brief, often poetic sentences, managing to create a rich sense of place and period through evocative details.' Quill & Quire

‘Historical fiction of the very best kind.’ Edmonton Journal

‘Well researched…should provide plenty for reading groups to dicuss.’
Ann Munton, NewBooksMag reader review

About the author

Eva Stachniak was born in Wroclaw, Poland. She emigrated to Canada in 1981, on scholarship to McGill University in Montreal. In Poland she taught English Literature at the University of Wroclaw. Her first short story appeared in the Antigonish Review in 1994. Her acclaimed debut novel, Necessary Lies, won the Amazon.com/Books in Canada First Novel Award. A communications professor at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, Eva Stachniak lives in Toronto and is working on her third novel.