I would to thank everyone who supported me in the writing of this book, and those who helped bring it to the attention of readers. My agent, Judith Murray at Greene & Heaton, offered sage editorial comments and believed in the novel from the beginning; Grainne Fox and Suzanne Brandreth found it loving homes in the USA and Canada. I am very grateful to my editors—Francesca Main, for her perceptive readings and invaluable notes, Josh Kendall and Lara Hinchberger, for their additional insights and suggestions—Maxine Hitchcock, Jessica Leeke, and the hard-working teams at my publishers, Simon & Schuster, Viking Penguin, and McClelland & Stewart.
I owe a big debt of thanks to Adam Robinson for taking me to see the college choirs and making Cambridge feel like home, and to Birkbeck College for keeping the roof over my head while I wrote the book. Thanks for the help, advice, and encouragement of Ailsa Cox, Michael Marshall Smith, Robert Paul Weston, Meryn Cadell, Steven Galloway, Keith Maillard, Derek Dunfield, Amanda Lamarche, Carla Gillis, Cathleen With, Susan Olding, Catharine Chen, Cliff Flax, Alice Kuipers, Patrick Neate, Hellie Ogden, Luke Brown, Mark Wainwright, Bobby Kewley, Laura Brodie, Phil Kielty, and Anne Seddon. Thanks also to Kit Holland and Tim Marwood for shedding light on unfamiliar aspects of student life, and Shaban Javed for kindness and numerous free meals.
Thank you to my girlfriend, Stephanie, for her love, belief, and stabilising presence (Opi did us proud). Thanks to my family for their great encouragement along the way: Alex and Nick—my brothers and kindred spirits—Ali, Dad, my grandparents, Uncle Harry and other absent friends.
Most of all, thank you to my mother, Lynn, who has read every draft and incarnation of this novel, and without whose love, resilience, faith, support, and wisdom I could never have written a word.