The Mirror

by Marlys Millhiser

Release: 1978
Format: Novel
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Adults
Content: Definite Time Travel
Original Language: English

In 1978, a 20-year-old Boulder woman exchanges places with her grandmother in 1900 on the eve of their respective weddings.

— Michael Main

He thought she wouldn’t answer but finally she said, “What if I can’t go back? What if I have to live out Brandy’s life? She lives an awfully long time, Corbin.”

DEBUT

The Mirror (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1978).

VARIANTS

2 English variants

TRANSLATIONS

Translations to Turkish

TAGS(SPOILERS!)

Time Periods

Circa AD 1900 to 1929: Shay in Brandy’s body 1900 to 1924
Circa AD 1930 to 1939: Young Rachel
Circa AD 1940 to 1949: Rachel as a young bride
Circa AD 1950 to 1959: Rachel gives birth to Shay
Circa AD 1970 to 1999: Brandy in Shay’s body

Time Travel Methods

Magic Time Travel: “But the wedding mirror wouldn’t work its magic that night . . . nor the next . . . nor the next.”

Themes

Ancestor Travel: Shay into Brandy’s body
Descendant Travel: Brandy into Shay’s body
Mind Travel
Precognition, Premonition, or Prediction: Brandy and Cindy

TIME TRAVEL ITINERARY (SPOILERS!)

From Boulder, Colorado, 1978 ⋙ to Boulder, Colorado, 1900. Round trip. Note: Shay's initial round-trip.
From Boulder, Colorado, 1978 ⋙ to Boulder, Colorado, 1900. Note: And Shay’s permanent return.
From Boulder, Colorado, 1900 ⋙ to Boulder, Colorado, 1978. Round trip. Note: Brandy's initial round-trip.
From Boulder, Colorado, 1900 ⋙ to Boulder, Colorado, 1978. Note: And Brandy’s permanent return.