Contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. Part One. Summer 1878
  5. 1. A Hundred-Year Wave
  6. 2. Tilli. Eleven Years Old
  7. 3. Before the Age of Knowledge
  8. 4. Invisible
  9. 5. This Odd and Sweet Fusion
  10. 6. Some Join the Zirkus When There’s Nothing Left
  11. 7. For Medicinal Reasons Only
  12. Part Two. 1842–1845
  13. 8. Sisters and Girls Thrive in the Salt-Drenched Air
  14. 9. St. Margaret and the Dragon
  15. 10. Sister Hildegunde Confronts Her Dragon
  16. Part Three. Fall 1878
  17. 11. Translucent Moons
  18. 12. Belly Dancers and Apostles
  19. 13. The Old Women Ride Their Bicycles to the Cemetery
  20. 14. Silvio Climbs into His Father’s Bed
  21. 15. Foundling
  22. 16. Going Maternal
  23. 17. Marlene and Hedda
  24. 18. Frost Sketches Flowers on the Windows
  25. Part Four. 1859–1866
  26. 19. Men Who Turn to Stone
  27. 20. Young Widows with Infants
  28. 21. I Kill The Sensational Sebastian
  29. 22. Luzia The Clown and the Whirling Nowack Cousins
  30. 23. Tell Me the Story of How My Vati Could Fly
  31. Part Five. Winter 1878–1879
  32. 24. A Quicksilver Murmur
  33. 25. In the Big Nursery
  34. 26. Of Being Alone and Untouched
  35. 27. The Mathematics of Loss. Of Desire
  36. Part Six. Spring 1879
  37. 28. A Balance of Bees and Humans
  38. 29. The Old Women Set the Stage by Trusting Gossip
  39. 30. Driftwood Jesus
  40. Part Seven. Summer 1879
  41. 31. August. And the Dresses of the St. Margaret Girls Billow
  42. 32. Lure of the Island
  43. 33. You Must Be Kind to Your Husband
  44. 34. A Frantic Summoning
  45. 35. I Know I’m Bossy
  46. 36. Our Own Hidden Wildness
  47. Part Eight. Winter 1879–1880
  48. 37. Old Rifts Mend
  49. 38. Sabine and Lotte
  50. 39. To Feel Your Skin Despite the Layers of Our Habits
  51. 40. Their Own Patron Saint
  52. 41. Nineteen Days
  53. 42. Steadiness of a Thief
  54. 43. You Don’t Have a Brother
  55. Part Nine. Spring 1880
  56. 44. Maria Ullrich Is Hungry for Colors
  57. 45. Schwarze Sonne
  58. 46. You Must Grip What You Cannot Bear to Lose
  59. Acknowledgments
  60. Also by Ursula Hegi
  61. About the Author
  62. Copyright