The Concubine’s Children began as a magazine article that first appeared in Saturday Night. Its editor, John Fraser, made everything seem possible, and Barbara Moon’s advice about story-telling reverberates with me still. Both envisaged and encouraged a book. From that point, I owe thanks to my editors at Penguin and Viking Penguin. Iris Skeoch was an early enthusiast and Mindy Werner and Meg Masters kept their faith in me and were critically and personally supportive, especially in the notes we traded about our pregnancies and the babies we had along the way. In the research of the book, many—family, relatives and others—candidly shared their recollections, and they deserve thanks. I am most grateful to my mother. As we retraced her family’s footsteps, she never tired of my questions and she willingly—and vividly—replayed the past for me. I also owe special thanks to my brother Wayne, whose sense of humor was as valued as his tape-recorder and notebook on our travels in China. Diana Lary provided insights on Chinese history; any mistakes are my own. I shall remember the making of this book as a family effort; my husband, Roger Smith, and I discussed the manuscript over our infant son’s colicky protests. Our young daughter perhaps cared the most, asking often, “Is the book finished?” The truthful answer is probably that such a book is never finished, but that there comes a time when the story is ready to be told.