I would like to thank the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Cultural Council for their generous support. I am very grateful as well to Marcie Hershman, Eileen Pollack, Marjorie Sandor, Alex Johnson, Jodi Daynard, Jessica Treadway, Phil Press, and especially Maxine Rodburg—all of whom read drafts of this novel and offered encouragement and advice. Many thanks, also, to my agent, Colleen Mohyde, and to my editor, Shannon Ravenel.