I would like to thank Chris White, my extremely patient editor at Scribner, for being so great to work with and knowing exactly when to say yes and when to say no. And thank you to all the team at Simon & Schuster, especially Jess, Richard and Kaiya (font-detective extraordinaire): Evie is very lucky to have found such a wonderful home. I’d also like to thank my lovely agent Alice Lutyens at Curtis Brown – the most stylish agent in London and also provider of the best breakfasts. Speaking of food, many thanks to Dr Emily Mayhew, recipe auditor, scotch-egg obtainer and Cointreau pourer. Special thanks to my chuffin’ brillyunt friend Chris for his cheeky Yorkshire banter and his in-depth knowledge of 1960s hairdressing techniques (which he practises every day). And thanks, too, to Claire Sheills, writing buddy and amazing company over the long slog. I met Claire at the Faber Academy and I would like to thank our tutor there, Shelley Weiner, for being so encouraging and wise, and also all my fellow classmates, especially Nina and Kara, who gave very useful feedback on early drafts. Many thanks to Carly and Anna, for keeping me well fed, housed and cultured. Thank you to colleagues at various workplaces over London for putting up with me over the four years it took to write the book, in particular the terrific team at CfAE Imperial College, who taught me about dangling participles. And to all my friends and family: thank you! Finally, lots of virtual belly rubs to two fantastic dogs, Lola and Sadie, who made me very happy indeed.