When Maryalice Huggins sees the Mirror she knows two things: 1) it is special, and 2) she has to have it. What she doesn't know is that it will also have her.

It sounds like the plot for a gothic horror doesn't it? There will be a castle, a brooding Lord, a deeply hidden family mystery, warnings to leave well enough alone, a touch of other-worldliness, and a heroine who risks everything to learn the secret and gain the desires of her heart. The differences here are that Maryalice is a real woman from the 21st-century, not a simpering Victorian maiden, and that the story is not an eerie fancy—it is the truth—brooding Lord and all!

Aesop's Mirror: A Love Story is a near-decade long odyssey of travel and research, learning and discovery, joys and disappointments as Ms. Huggins buys, restores and sets out to learn the origin of the Mirror, which she names "The Fox and Grapes Mirror" after Aesop's tale. Golden children pick grapes as a fox looks on expectantly, hoping for a windfall. The author becomes possessed by the mystery of the Mirror, its maker and previous owners. Who carved and molded the figures? Who gilded the intricate leaves and vines? How did the 18th-century mirror end up in a Rhode Island garage?

The thing I enjoyed most in this book is the look at the antique-professional who moves beyond the goal of flipping the product for big profit; and I agree that profit is important. The thing that makes this story a treasure hunt is the excitement and risk involved for the sake of attaining knowledge. It is about the value something has just because you love it, no matter what other people think. It won’t take long for you realize that it really doesn’t matter what the answer is, the important thing was the journey to find it.