Chantress
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Nat’s microscope would have been a new, unusual, and very high-tech device at the time. The remark about fleas looking as big as lambs comes from a comment by Galileo, who built some of the earliest microscopes.
There really was an Invisible College, a loose association of mathematicians, alchemists, and natural philosophers who were active in the 1640s and 1650s; historians debate the exact nature of the organization and its membership. In 1660, under Charles II, some Invisible College members were involved in founding the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, now known simply as the Royal Society. My Invisible College engages in many of the same activities as its prototype, but with an extra helping of danger, intrigue, and magic. The astute observer may notice a certain uncanny resemblance of characters in my IC to those who belonged to the real-life IC and Royal Society.
The alchemy and firebox experiments that Nat mentions to Lucy are very much in line with the kind of phenomena the Invisible College and Royal Society liked to investigate. Nat’s firebox would have been one of the earliest cast-iron stoves, which only became common in the eighteenth century.
The Tower of London is essentially like its real-life counterpart, although there have been certain alterations made to it under Scargrave, in part because of the Shadowgrims.
Legend has it that there have been ravens at the Tower for centuries, though hard evidence suggests they may date only to the nineteenth century. The legend, however, has stolen the show, maybe because of the birds’ sheer presence. Enormous, clever, and bold, they strut on Tower Green as if they owned it. I first encountered them years ago, and they’ve haunted me ever since.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I began this book in 2006 in a Massachusetts coffee shop. Almost six years later, I finished the last draft in my new home in England. During that time, I moved countries, had a child, nearly died, inched back to life—and somehow held on to this story, even if sometimes by a thread. In truth, it often seemed as if the story were holding on to me. Without the help of others, however, I’m not sure I could have seen it through.
I owe an especially great debt to Kit Sturtevant and Nancy Werlin, two remarkable writers who sustained me through the whole journey, encouraging me in the doldrums and offering helpful comments when I finally dared show them the manuscript. I am hugely grateful, too, to the other wonderful writers who critiqued the manuscript in full—Kristina Cliff-Evans, Amanda Jenkins, Teri Terry, and Jo Wyton—and to those who read draft chapters: Nick Cross, Paula Harrison, Tina Lemon, Penny Schenk, Nicki Thornton, Jan Carr, Philippa Francis, George Kirk, Lois Peterson, Joyce Taylor, Stephanie Burgis, and the SCBWI-BI 11+ Fantasy E-group.
My thanks to many others who cheered me along the way, among them Cathy Atkins, Jeannine Atkins, Kathi Fisler, Shirley Harazin, Lisa Harkrader, Cynthia Lord, Kirsty Luff, Amy McAuley, Mary Novack, Mary Pearson, Marlene Perez, Samantha Scolamiero, Jenny Turner, Laura Weiss, Sue Williams, Melissa Wyatt, and the generous LiveJournal, YAWriter, and SCBWI communities. I am deeply grateful to Ada Jiménez and Kathy MacGregor, who took loving care of my daughter, allowing me some hours to write. I also extend profound thanks to the health professionals who helped me in dark times and to blood donors everywhere.
It’s my good fortune to have the smart and thoughtful Julie Just of Janklow & Nesbit as my agent; it’s a delight to work with her. My thanks as well to the rest of “Team Chantress,” marvelous women all: Tina Bennett, Svetlana Katz, and Stephanie Koven.
My editor, Karen Wojtyla, sees to the heart of things; it’s an honor, a challenge, and a pleasure to be edited by her. At Simon & Schuster, I’m also grateful for the help of Justin Chanda, Paul Crichton, Michael McCartney, Emily Fabre, Annie Nybo, Bridget Madsen, and everyone who has looked after Chantress so well. I appreciate Jen Strada’s careful copyediting too.
I send loving thanks to my family, who’ve helped in ways large and small: Barbara and Crispin Butler; Pat and Bert Greenfield; Steve and Sabine; Jon, Valerie, Sofia, Carlo, and Vivian; Stephen, Sarah, Ruth, and Grace.
Above all, I want to thank my husband, David—co-conspirator, reader extraordinaire, and steadfast friend—and my beautiful, brave daughter. You bring music and magic to all my days.
Thanks dpgroup forum.
AMY BUTLER GREENFIELD
was on her way to a history PhD when she gave in to temptation and became a writer. Since then she has won several honors, including the PEN/Martha Albrand Award. An American, she lives with her family in England. Chantress is her first teen novel. You can visit her at amybutlergreenfield.com.
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Simon & Schuster, New York
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MARGARET K. McELDERRY BOOKS † An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division † 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020 † www.SimonandSchuster.com † This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. † Copyright © 2013 by Amy Butler Greenfield † All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. † MARGARET K. MCELDERRY BOOKS is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc. † The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com. † The text for this book is set in Granjon LT.† Jacket photograph copyright © 2013 by Ali Smith † Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data † Greenfield, Amy Butler. † Chantress / Amy Butler Greenfield.—1st ed. † p. cm. † Summary: “Fifteen-year-old Lucy discovers that she is a chantress who can perform magic by singing, and the only one who can save England from the control of the dangerous Lord Protector”—Provided by publisher. † ISBN 978-1-4424-5703-4 (hardcover) † ISBN 978-1-4424-5705-8 (eBook) † [1. Supernatural—Fiction. 2. Magic—Fiction. 3. Singing—Fiction. 4. Great Britain—History—17th century—Fiction.] I. Title. † PZ7.G8445Ch 2013 † [Fic]—dc23 † 2012012410