Christelle Dabos was born on the Côte d’Azur in 1980 and grew up in a home filled with classical music and historical games. She now lives in Belgium. The Mirror Visitor, her debut series, won the Gallimard Jeunesse-RTL-Télérama First Novel Competition.
#christelledabos
Catherine Hélier © Editions Gallimard
Since graduating in French from Oxford University, Hildegarde Serle has worked in London as a newspaper subeditor at The Independent and The Sunday Telegraph. She has a diploma in translation from the Chartered Institute of Linguists. She lives in London, but her heart lives on the Quai aux Fleurs in Paris.
For readers of all ages, A Winter’s Promise is a fantastical story of intrigue and suspense that is becoming a worldwide cult phenomenon.
Lose yourself in the world of the arks and in the company of an unforgettable character in this French runaway hit by debut author Christelle Dabos. A Winter’s Promise, the first installment in the Mirror Visitor Quartet, introduces readers to a remarkable heroine and to the richly imagined universe of the arks: floating celestial islands governed by the spirits of immortal ancestors. Ophelia, a mix of awkward misfit and misunderstood genius, possesses two special gifts: an unrivaled talent for reading the past of objects and the ability to travel through mirrors. Her peaceful existence on the ark of Anima is interrupted when she is promised in marriage to Thorn, a taciturn and influential member of a powerful clan from a distant ark, the cold and icy Pole. Ophelia must follow her fiancé to the towering city of Citaceleste, where nobody can be trusted. There, in the company of her inscrutable future husband, Ophelia slowly realizes that she is a pawn in a political game that will have far-reaching ramifications not only for her but for her entire world.
» Read an excerpt from A Winter’s Promise (PDF).
“Dabos’s darkly enchanting debut, a French bestseller, employs vibrant characters,
inventive worldbuilding, and a sophisticated plot that will dazzle readers.”
—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
“Europa Crosses into YA Territory with ‘A Winter’s Promise’”
—Publishers Weekly
“As mesmerizing as a waking dream, A Winter’s Promise is certain to ensnare you
in its unique, dizzyingly magical world of treachery, illusion, and intrigue.”
—Margaret Rogerson, New York Times Bestselling author of An Enchantment of Ravens
“A captivating fantasy thriller rife with magic and intrigue.”
—Foreword Reviews (Starred Review)
“Dabos’ books provide an irresistible mix of character development,
imaginative world-building, and tightly-wound suspense.”
—Entertainment Weekly
“Dabos has managed the rarely seen triad of complex worldbuilding,
nuanced character development, and enthralling plot, even making it look easy. [...]
Not a drop of mastery is lost in translation.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“This French best-seller, the first in Dabos’ immersive Mirror Visitor quartet,
holds as much appeal for adult fantasy readers as for teens.”
―Booklist
“Today, The Mirror Visitor stands on the same shelf as Harry Potter.”
—Elle
“Ophelia is able to grow as a character without betraying her values.”
—Teen Readers Council
“A Winter's Promise” is SciFi/Fantasy Book of the Year."
—Amazon Book Review
“...pulse-pounding suspense.”
—The Buffalo News
Christelle Dabos talks “A Winter’s Promise”
—Young Entertainment
“Ophelia is... the tiny-voiced powerhouse you can’t take your eyes off.”
—The New York Times
“A glittering, steampunk world...”
—The Wall Street Journal
“Ophelia has this quiet strength...”
—Utopia State of Mind
“World-building at its best”
—School Library Journal (Starred Review)
“A Winter’s Promise is a stellar addition to the fantasy genre booksellers can recommend to adults and teens alike. The worldbuilding is incredible and Ophelia is a heroine you can immediately relate to: clever, resourceful, and constantly underestimated. Dabos delights and thrills readers as Ophelia finds herself caught in the middle of political intrigue and deadly secrets with nothing but her wits to keep her alive. As the tension builds and mysteries are revealed, it’s impossible to put the book down.”
—Katerina Argyres, Bookshop West Portal, San Francisco, CA
“A lush, romantic tale about family, duty, and discovering your independence, this book is going to be a crowd pleaser!”
—Laura Graveline, Brazos Bookstore, Houston, TX
“Ophelia is a hero for the ages, and I hope this series becomes the next big one that grabs the imaginations of young adults and adults alike.”
—“15 Highly Anticipated New Science Fiction and Fantasy Books for Fall” by Adrian Liang, Ominvoracious: The Amazon Book Review
“50 of Our Most Anticipated YA Fantasy Novels of 2018”
—Melissa Albert, B&N Teen Blog
“All the New Fantasy Books Coming Out in September!”
—Tor.com
“UPCOMING RELEASES FROM MY FAVORITE SMALL PRESSES”
—Bookriot
When Farouk, the ancestral Spirit of Pole, promotes her to Vice-storyteller, Ophelia finds herself thrust into the public spotlight. Now that her powers (and the threat they present to the secretive denizens of this world) are known to all, she must uncover at her own expense the plots that have been brewing beneath the golden rafters of Citaceleste. In this ever-perilous situation, Thorn, her enigmatic fiancé, may be the only person she can trust. As influential courtiers keep disappearing, Ophelia once again finds herself unintentionally implicated in an investigation that will lead her to see beyond Pole’s many illusions, to the heart of the formidable truth.
“Ophelia was wary of fakes, but she was even more wary of individuals who used them to manipulate others. That was why she felt particularly ill at ease among the courtiers now jostling her. They were all Mirages, the masters of illusionism. With their imposing stature, pale hair, light eyes and clan tattoos, Ophelia felt even more diminutive, more dark-haired, more short-sighted and more of a stranger than ever in their midst. Occasionally, they would look snootily down at her. No doubt they were wondering who this young lady, desperately trying to hide under her parasol, was, but Ophelia certainly wasn’t going to tell them. She was alone and without protection; if they discovered that she was engaged to Thorn, the most hated man in the whole city, she’d never save her skin. Or her mind. She had a cracked rib, a black eye, and a slashed cheek following her recent ordeals. Best not to make things even worse.”
“The plots multiply, the world of the Arks gains depth, and details abound, enveloping the reader as the pages fly by.”
—Le Monde des ados
“Particularly elegant writing, which also leaves room for a discreet sense of humor.”
—Le Figaro Littéraire
“Christelle Dabos has the gift of gripping readers of all ages.”
—Lire
“This book is bursting with inventiveness.”
—Le Monde des livres
“A subtle sense of magic, in fluid and elegant language.”
—Télérama
“...spectacular settings, exquisitely rendered characters.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Fresh and inventive.”
—Mountain & Plains Independent Booksellers Association
“Masterful.”
—Kirkus Reviews
The Mirror Visitor stands on the same shelf as Harry Potter.”—Elle Magazine
In this gripping third volume of the Christelle Dabos’s best-selling saga, Ophelia, the mirror-traveling heroine, finds herself on the ark of Babel guarding a secret that may provide a key both to the past and the future.
After two years and seven months biding her time on Anima, her home ark, it is finally time to act, to put what she has discovered in the Book of Farouk to use. Under an assumed identity she travels to Babel, a cosmopolitan and thoroughly modern ark that is the jewel of the universe.
Will Ophelia’s talent as a reader suffice to avoid being lured into a deadly trap by her ever more fearful adversaries? Will she ever see Thorn, her betrothed, again? “Ophelia is...the tiny-voiced powerhouse you can’t take your eyes off.”—The New York Times
The final chapter of Ophelia’s story will be told in The Storm of Echoes, book four of the Mirror Visitor Quartet. Forthcoming Fall 2021.
Rachael Small
Director of Publicity, Europa Editions
RachaelSmall@europaeditions.com / +1 (212) 868-6844
Daniela Petracco
Director, Europa Editions UK
danielapetracco@europaeditions.com / +44 020 7613 5762
Anne Bouteloup
Gallimard Jeunesse
To enter for a chance to win an advance copy of Book Two in the Mirror Visitor Quartet follow @europaeditions on Instagram, post your fan art with the hashtag #WinMirrorVisitor, and tag Europa Editions on your post!