by Liz Freeland
I sought German-language help from my dad, Bill Bass, and Evelyn Staton. Vielen Dank! Any errors appearing in the published book are mine.
While An Orphan of Hell’s Kitchen is a work of fiction, a few aspects of the story were sparked by real events that occurred in and around New York at the outbreak of the First World War. For instance, there really was a passport scheme to help German sailors return to Europe, although its discovery unfolded in a different manner than what happens in this book. The true story of German spies and saboteurs in the U.S. during World War I has been written by many historians, but my favorite references were The Detonators: The Secret Plot to Destroy America and an Epic Hunt for Justice by Chad Millman, Sabotage at Black Tom by Jules Witcover, and New York at War by Steven H. Jaffe.