First and foremost, I would like to thank the power of curiosity, for this is what propelled me to search, physically and digitally, through dusty basements and attics, as well as storage units in libraries, museums, historic sites, and churches. Words cannot express my gratitude to the lovers of history who for centuries have kept the records. Through these thousands of documents, this story emerged. Special thanks to the University of Virginia for the comprehensive collection of the Papers of George Washington, the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, the New-York Historical Society, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Harvard University’s Houghton Library, the Huntington Library, the Morris-Jumel Mansion, the Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, from which fashion throughout the manuscript was drawn, Yonkers City Hall, the Sherwood House Museum, St. John’s Episcopal Church, the Historic Hudson Valley, the Boston Public Library, the Fraunces Tavern Museum, Jeffrey’s Hook Lighthouse, the Hudson River Museum, Old Dutch Church, St. Joseph’s Seminary, the Van Cortland Manor House Museum, and countless others.
Boundless thank-yous to my wise and brilliant editor, Elizabeth Beier. If not for you and publisher extraordinaire Steve Cohen, this story may have never made it into ink. To the whole team at St. Martin’s Press—Paul Hochman, Michelle Cashman, Leah Johanson, Clare Maurer, Meg Drislane, Donna Sinisgalli Noetzel, Kerri Resnick, Jennifer Donovan, Carol Edwards, Carly Sommerstein, and Laura Starrett—my gratitude. Over the years, numerous individuals have had a profound impact on my career, most especially my longtime agent and dear friend, Sandy Montag. Thanks also to Peter Dunn, David Friend, Tony Petitti, and Janine Rose.
My sanity might have been lost somewhere between the first and second page if not for my family. To my husband, Michael, if not for your inauguration as mayor of Yonkers. New York, this story may never have been discovered. Thank you for believing in me, encouraging me, and motivating me. It’s meant the world to me. To my writing and research assistants, otherwise known as my children, Michael, Alexandra, and Christopher, you are our everything. To the great bunch of relatives who read and read and offered suggestions and propped me up, and even found the title for this novel over Sunday dinner, my gratitude to the Calvi family, the Spano family, the Ragone family, and the Circosta family—thank you for your suggestions, your research, and your patience. I adored our readings by the bay and our laughs over wine and cheese.
To my dear friends Alexandrea Denis and Andrea Smyth, your joy is infectious—thank you for joining with me on this adventure and helping to bring this story to life. To the many, many others, including Josyane Colwell, Danielle Parker, Dana Tyler, Nancy Montag, and Michael Downs, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
To all of you in my hometown of Yonkers, New York, I am forever in your debt.