I was lucky to find two of my grandmother's diaries in the attic of her house, one hundred years after she had written them. Her days were as dull as dirty windows, but I read about them with a thrill of inspiration. The flavour of her penciled notes though certainly not the content formed the beginning of Mable Riley.
I would like to thank the following people for helping this book come to life: Jamie Michalak, my editor, for asking me to add instead of cut; Kathy Lowinger, for loving the manuscript; Martha Slaughter, for kitchen table brain-storming; Ethan Ellenberg, my agent, for his faith; Dr. Matt Nebel, for his veterinary guidance; Sara Reynolds, for always listening; my writing mates, Michele Spirn, Julia Noonan, Roxane Orgill, and Ellen Dreyer, for their treasured opinions; Alissa Heyman, for thoughtful early input; Sally Hill and the other librarians at the Stratford Public Library; Elaine Cook, caretaker of the Brocksden country schoolhouse for letting me peek inside, off-season; the archivists in the Perth County Archives; and of course, my family, Tom, Hannah, and Nell.