We are never alone.
A great part of this work was inspired by the power of my female friendships, those that enabled me to survive years of great personal difficulty. It is to such kinship—one seemingly particular to women—that I hope to pay homage with this series. My survival, and this work, would not have been possible without those friends, most specifically Jennifer Way (1973–2012), Hannah Arbuthnot, and Stephanie Estes Saccoccio. To them I send all my love and gratitude.
I send thanks as well to the talented and generous C.W. Gortner, my Leonardo.
I am indebted to Christy English and again to Hannah Arbuthnot for their time and advice.
I am beholden to my agent, Shannon Hassan; her belief in me and this work reignited my passion for my true purpose and gave me back my own belief in myself.
My gratitude extends and expands to my editor, Randall Klein, for his devotion to this book, for helping me turn a good story into a great story. And to the wonderful team at Diversion, Sarah Masterson Hally, Trent Hart, Laura Duane, Beth Brown, and all those whose names I do not know, but whose support and encouragement on my behalf has been so vital to this book, I say, mille grazie.
Writing is a very solitary profession, but it is also a passion, one that needs a particular form of empathy that only other writers can offer. I am forever indebted to those writers who have helped me in my journey, especially Kate Quinn, Stephanie Dray, Heather Webb, Marci Jefferson, Nancy Bilyeau, Anne Easter Smith, Diana Haeger, and all the wonderful members of the Historical Fiction Co-op.
In the bibliography, there is noted the “Online Gazetteer of Sixteenth Century Florence.” This is an amazingly detailed map of early sixteenth-century Florence developed, at that time, by one “Stefano Buonsignori (or Bonsignori) who designed the large axonometric ("birds-eye view") map of Florence displayed in the Gazetteer. He was an Olivetian monk (a local Tuscan order of Benedictines) skilled in map making, and near his monastery (which is shown in the lower left hand corner of the map) was a panoramic view of Florence that may have helped to inspire his creation.”
I can never thank Caroline Castiglione, Ph.D., enough. Dr. Castiglione is an Associate Professor, Italian Studies and History, at Brown University, and availed me of this map. And though my years of research have made Renaissance Florence a very real place for me, this map brought it ever more alive and I am extremely grateful for her assistance and that of R. Burr Litchfield, Professor of History (Emeritus) at Brown University and his students, who digitized the map, making it, and Renaissance Florence, available to all.
Lastly, there are no words in the English language that can express my gratitude to my partner, Carl James-Cordean…who brought me back to life.