A number of people served as invaluable readers, adding constructive and critical support along the way. Principal among these were Meghan Tally, my Princeton roommate Louis Sanford, the invaluable Pat LoBrutto, and, of course, my wife, Gaby, the consummate English teacher, who lent careful attention to every page. Bobbi Wolf, Cathy Frantzis, Jano Tucker, Dave Raphael, and David Agnew also read and made timely suggestions.
A number of people helped with research. Invaluable resources among these were Paolo Valdemarin and Monica Loredan in Gorizia, Italy, and Dietmar Steinbrenner in Vienna, all three of whom devoted valuable time hosting and generously sharing locations. It was Aaron Edelheit who pointed me in the direction of Jesse Livermore and the bucket shops that proved so instrumental in the development of Will Honeycutt’s passions. Brock Brower lent his expertise on William James. And, as before, I am grateful for my years at Pacifica Graduate Institute for filling in details of depth psychology, Jung’s active imagination, and the significance of dreams.
There is no question that this novel would not exist if it were not for two extraordinary colleagues in the book business: my agent, Scott Miller, and my editor at Dutton, Ben Sevier. Scott and Ben, both superb at their jobs, prodded, goaded, and cheered me on during the difficult gestation period of this second novel.
Also I am grateful for the remarkable support team at Dutton: President Brian Tart, Christine Ball, Carrie Swetonic, Liza Cassity, Stephanie Kelly, Susan Schwartz, Rich Hasselberger, Monica Benalcazar, and Kirby Rogerson. All played their parts well.
On a personal note, I cannot express adequately the significance of the friendship shown to me over the past four years by Pat Conroy in the development of my own journey as a writer. Pat has been as supportive as he is an inspiration. Also this time around I wish to thank Seattle writers Jennie Shortridge and Garth Stein. What a luxury to have such writers as friends.
And finally a word about my dedication page: my three children, Nan, Bruce, and Paula, readers all, have chipped in over the years to help with ideas and plot points. They along with their mother have been the ideal family for a late-blooming author. To all four of them I extend my deepest love, gratitude, and admiration.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A graduate of Princeton and Stanford, Selden Edwards is a former English teacher and was headmaster at several private schools during his career in education. His debut novel, The Little Book, which he began writing in 1974 and worked on over the course of thirty years, was published in 2008 and became a national bestseller. He lives near Santa Barbara, California.
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