Thank you Nicholas Jose for convincing me to give Grace and Mary their very own novel; Jan Harrow for all her ongoing support and editorial advice; Chelsea Avard for, once again, reading one half of the manuscript and, with unflagging enthusiasm, convincing me the other half was worth it; Amy Matthews for too many discussions about the exegesis (sorry!); Rachel Hennick for introducing me to the work of Joyce Carol Oates; and to Stephanie Hester for mentioning the idea of the moonlight falling into the War Memorial, some time drinking Cibo coffee. Thank you to the ‘Wordsmitties’: Katherine Doube, Carol Lefevre, Anna Solding, Heather Taylor Johnson and Bernadette Smith for their enormous generosity in reading the entire manuscript and convincing me to enter it in the Vogel. A special mention to Bern for her Gothic insights, not to mention introducing me to the Cap’n and to the subsequent wonderful outcomes from that meeting.
Thank you to the University of Adelaide for providing me with a postgraduate scholarship and to the Creative Writing program in the Department of English. Thank you to Wakefield Press for continuing to support my writing, particularly to Michael Bollen for being so approachable. Thank you to Julia Beaven for an inspired, and inspiring, edit.
On the family side, thanks to both my parents—Dr Gail Hennessy and Lance Hennessy—for reading the novel and picking up on historical errors, plus giving their blessing to use family stories. As always, my siblings have been there along the way—Gina, Ralph, Mark and Ruth—giving support in various forms, from visits to phone calls, from memories to jokes. A special mention to my sister-in-law, Lucy, for many fantastic meals during the Adelaide years.
This work owes a great deal to the memory of two women: my maternal grandmother, Jean Kearns, and my paternal great-aunt Noreen McAllister. I knew neither of them very well but I hope they might have been flattered by the attention.
Finally, this work is dedicated to my father: eternal optimist, pillar of strength and general bringer of joy. Never let the turkeys get you down.
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