As always, a special thank you to my agent, Hannah Bowman, who somehow finds time to answer multiple emails, read my books, reassure me they’re not terrible, tell me how to fix them, and generally guide me through the thorny paths of publishing. I so appreciate it. Thank you also to Nivia Evans for taking on this book and for the first round of edits; to Angelica Chong for taking up the reins for the second round and beyond with enthusiasm and insight; and to Emily Byron, for taking such good care of this story across the pond. The book is so much better for all your work.
To the amazing people at Orbit: Thank you to Lauren Panepinto, head of department, and Lisa Marie Pompilio, cover artist—I always know my books are in safe hands with you. Thank you to Bryn A. McDonald, Rachel Goldstein, and Kelley Frodel for your tact and care in copyedits, even when it’s very obvious I’ve left in bits of old drafts and don’t know how time works. In publicity and marketing, thank you so much to Alex Lencicki, Ellen Wright, Stephanie Hess, and Natassja Haught for helping this book find its people in the outside world. You are all magic.
Thank you as always to the Bunker for your wisdom, your support, and your friendship.
This book is, among other things, a homage to the writers of that strange and terrible period immediately before, during, and after World War I, who found themselves in a broken world and were determined to make a new one. So, thanks to them, and thanks in particular to Vera Brittain, Ford Madox Ford, Rebecca West, E. M. Forster, Katherine Mansfield, and T. S. Eliot, whose words all helped bring this book to life in different and unpredictable ways. It’s also, of course, a book about academia, and so my endless gratitude goes to every university and university library that ever opened its doors to me.
To the menagerie: Jeremy and Miss Adler, our fashionable cat couple; Fleischman and O’Connell, our overactive and much-loved rabbits; Mr. Norrell and Thistledown, our chaos guinea pigs; and all the members of our mouse mischief, past and present. As usual, you were no help at all. Never stop.
Most importantly, thank you to Mum and Dad for your continual support and love, and especially to Sarah for reading, for brainstorming, for encouraging, for believing in what this story was going to be. The book wouldn’t exist without you.
Last of all, if you’ve read anything I’ve ever written, including this, thank you. It means everything to me.