Little
Page 37
Here I am, breathless in bed. I can see the end, clearly enough, in this room. I’m eighty-nine years old. I shall not see ninety. I am Anne Marie Tussaud, née Grosholtz. Little.
Who shall never go away.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book has taken me fifteen years to finish, which is rather a long time. Though based on real events and real individuals, sometimes these people (Marie Grosholtz, Philip Curtius, for example) have left us rather vague, sometimes untrustworthy, histories, and so I have felt free to fill in some blanks. Through long stretches of research, the greatest pleasure and usefulness came to me in the form of the writings of Louis Sebastien Mercier. An equivalent to London’s Henry Mayhew and New York’s Joseph Mitchell, Mercier proved the best of all guides to eighteenth-century Paris; I have made him a character in these pages and have tried to retain his voice.
I could not have written this book without the help of the following people and institutions: Madame Tussauds in London, for giving me a job so many years ago that started this off; Christopher Merrill and the International Writers Program; Patrick Deville and the Maison des Écrivains Étrangers and des Traducteurs; Søren Lind and the Brecht Hus; Claudia Woolgar and the Kilkenny Arts Festival; Bradford Morrow and Conjunctions; Paul Lisicky and Story Quarterly; Yiyun Li and A Public Space; Arno Nauwels, for his advice in making a four-foot wooden woman (fully articulated), and Elizabeth McCracken, for giving it hair; Dana Burton, for her patience and precision; Charles Lambert, for his generosity; Elisabetta Sgarbi, for always being there; Michael Taeckens, for making all the difference; everyone at the glorious, inspired Gallic Books, especially Jane Aitken, Maddy Allen, and Emily Boyce, who first took this creature on; everyone at the wonderful, brilliant Riverhead Books, for having faith in this book, including the very exceptional Jynne Martin, Jennifer Huang, and Glory Plata, and most especially to the astonishing genius that is Calvert Morgan, whose wit and wisdom and elegance and astounding eye brought this book into harbor at last, and whom I can never thank enough; everyone at Blake Friedmann, including the late and very great Carole Blake, as well as Tom Witcomb, James Pusey, Emanuela Anechoum, and especially my beloved agent, Isobel Dixon, who has read this book in so many different shapes and sizes and who has stood by it longer than any human should have; and last and most, Elizabeth and Gus and Matilda, who are short and mighty.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Edward Carey is a novelist, visual artist, and playwright. His acclaimed YA series, the Iremonger Trilogy, was a fan favorite, with citations for Best Books of the Year by The New York Times, NPR, and Kirkus Reviews. He is also the author of two adult novels, Observatory Mansions and Alva & Irva. Born in England, he now teaches at the University of Texas in Austin, where he lives with his wife, the author Elizabeth McCracken., and their family.
What’s next on
your reading list?
Discover your next
great read!
* * *
Get personalized book picks and up-to-date news about this author.
Sign up now.