ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For their hard work on behalf of this book and the last, I am grateful to Caitlin Blasdell, Rebecca Brewer, Bella Pagan and Diana Gill, as well as the wider teams at Ace and Pan Macmillan.

Thank you to Martin and Bernadette Auger for the Tate membership. A room to write in has a sort of talismanic power, and the Tate Modern Members Room was the birthplace of much of the matter of this book.

While writing, I complained to a great many people, including Aliette de Bodard, Tade Thompson, Victor Ocampo, Vida Cruz, Mia Sereno, Kate Elliott, Cindy Pon, Maxine Lim, the Concordians especially Tai Cheh Kuan, the Idlers by Bamboo, and my family. I am indebted to them all for their unfailing patience.

Thanks are due above all to my husband, Peter Auger, for everything, and to Rachel Monte, for being this book’s earliest and best friend. This book would not exist without their love and support.