I would like to thank:
The National Endowment for the Arts and UNESCO Prague, City of Literature, for providing crucial support during the early stages of the novel.
Marya Spence, agent extraordinaire, friend in space travel, for being the most powerful champion of authors and books the world has seen.
The Little, Brown family: Ben George, king among editors, comrade in the trenches, for believing in Adéla’s story as things fell apart around us. Alyssa Persons, Laura Mamelok, Sabrina Callahan, Bruce Nichols, Craig Young, Ben Allen, Evan Hansen-Bundy, and others, for giving the novel a home.
My brilliant friends: Christy, Scott, Adam, and Bryn, for their invaluable feedback and inspiration.
My family: Mum, babička Marie, teta Jitka, Andrejka, my nephew Kryštof, and my late děda Emil and děda Jaroslav, for their love and encouragement.