I would like to thank Giles Mercer, Headmaster, Lesley Richards, and the dedicated staff of Prior Park College for showing me about the house and discussing its history; the Bath City Archives, the Bath Central Library, and the Bath University Library, for their willing and gracious assistance; Del Davies and the University Housing Office, for making research in Bath both pleasant and convenient.
Marilyn Wright has read Black Gold critically at various stages and offered generous insightful comment. Jennifer Nelson of Gallaudet University and David Manning of The Clarke School for the Deaf have given many practical suggestions concerning issues of lip reading and deafness. I am also grateful to Eileen Spring for expert advice on English eighteenth-century custom and law on marriage and divorce; to Ray Gaudette for lending his computer skills; to Gudveig Baarli, for help with the maps; and to Barbara Peters, Rob Rosenwald, and the talented professionals at Poisoned Pen Press.
To my wife Elvy I owe special mention for her expert editorial reading of the book and her many supportive suggestions for its improvement.