Some of this story is based on truth. There was a gardener in Glasgow called William Lang. There was a lecturer in botany at the old college of Glasgow University whose name was Thomas Brown, and the celebrated anatomist Professor James Jeffray did indeed ask him to undertake the botanical lectures in his stead. It is clear from existing correspondence that William Lang and Thomas Brown, who were not very far apart in years, struck up a friendship. It is clear that Thomas valued the work William did in collecting plant specimens for him. Later, when William found himself struggling to cope with a polluted garden and the necessities of providing for a widowed mother and younger siblings, Thomas Brown defended him from the complaints of Faculty, as far as he could. The book which so shocked William is all too real as is the old book about gardening. I have included a select bibliography of the books and websites I used in my research, in case any reader might be interested in the historical details. For the rest, although I hope it is a vivid recreation of the time and place, it is entirely fictional.
I would like to thank my family and friends for all their encouragement and understanding as ever but especially Michael Malone and Cally Phillips. Many thanks are also due to all at Saraband, but especially Sara Hunt, to my editor Ali Moore, as well as to The Society of Authors for years of advice and support. Finally, a special mention must go to all the ‘Authors Electric’, best of online friends and bloggers.