Acknowledgments

When A Good American was published in 2012, I used to tell a story about how a hotshot editor in New York read an early draft of the manuscript and rejected it. A year later, after I had rewritten half the novel, my agent somehow persuaded the same hotshot editor to read the book again, at which point she bought it. Then she made me rewrite the other half. This story will come as no surprise to anyone who knows Amy Einhorn. She sends me back to my desk to revise and rework, time and time again, until things are exactly right. For such editors, writers should be eternally grateful; I know I am. It has been a joy to move to Flatiron Books and work with Amy again on The Paris Hours. And, once again, she has pushed and prodded and inspired me to make the best of this book, and I could not be more grateful to her. My thanks to everyone else on the brilliant team at Flatiron, including Marlena Bittner, Cristina Gilbert, Bob Miller, Conor Mintzer, Caroline Bleeke, Amelia Possanza, Nancy Trypuc, Katherine Turro, and Julianna Lee.

As always, Emma Sweeney in New York and Andrew Gordon in London have advised and guided me with skill and assurance.

I’m eternally grateful to my oh-so-smart and generous early readers: Pamela Klinger-Horn, Bibi Prival, Allison Smythe, Alexandra Socarides, and Stephanie Williams.

Only now that I’ve become a bookseller myself have I really begun to understand the devotion and smarts that are needed to succeed at what is simultaneously a quixotic and utterly necessary undertaking. Make no mistake, booksellers are superheroes. Every last one of them deserves a cape and their own Marvel franchise, and I thank and celebrate all of them. I am so proud and happy to have joined their ranks. In particular, I’m grateful to my business partner, Carrie Koepke. I never would have dreamed of opening Skylark Bookshop without her. Thank you for all of it, Carrie. And thanks and love to our amazing team at Skylark: Becky Reed, Carol Putnam, Beth Shapiro, Faramola Shonekan, Erin Regneri, and Chris Talley.

P. G. Wodehouse once dedicated a book to his daughter, Leonora, “without whose never-failing sympathy and encouragement this book would have been finished in half the time.” Families can be like that sometimes, and thank heavens. To Alexandra Socarides and our children—Hallam, Catherine, Archer, and Nate—I offer up all my love and thanks. I could not wish for a better distraction.