by Amy Maroney
Zari dashed upstairs and left a bag containing a bottle of Priorat and a goodbye note for Monsieur Mendieta by his door. Carefully she made her way down the curving staircase to the lobby, lugging her roll-aboard and her messenger bag, sweating in her winter coat.
When she pushed open the door, the bright morning sunlight reflecting off the slick cobblestones made her eyes ache.
“Ready?” Laurence said, popping open the trunk of her car.
Zari fought back tears as Laurence helped load her things into the back of the Renault. She stripped off her coat and slid into the passenger seat.
Her mobile buzzed. She pulled it eagerly from her handbag, hoping it was Wil.
Laurence buckled her seatbelt and glanced down at the mobile’s screen.
“Country code 41. Switzerland.” She inserted the key in the ignition and the car roared to life. “Who do you know there?”
Zari sat frozen, staring in consternation at the device in her hand, her thumb hovering over the ‘decline’ button.
The mobile buzzed a fifth time, then a sixth.
“Are you going to answer it?” Laurence pulled away from the curb. The pigeons vaulted into the air and scattered in all directions.
Zari took a deep breath and slowly let it out, wondering what her mother would say at this moment. The answer came to her immediately.
Sometimes accidents are miracles in disguise.
Overhead the clouds collided, muting the light.
With one swift motion, Zari pressed ‘accept.’
the end
Author’s Note
The historical record is full of holes. We know history is written by the victors, by people whose wealth and education gave them the opportunity to describe what they saw and experienced through their own narrow lens. That narrative is rife with misrepresentations, with silenced voices, with stories that were suppressed or ignored.
The Miramonde Series is an attempt to fill in the blanks about women artists during a particular time and place: the early Renaissance era in what is now France and Spain. With these stories, I weave what I have learned from the historical record with my own imaginings.
The Cagots were a mysterious people who lived in and around the western Pyrenees, first entering the historical record during the late Middle Ages. The scant documentation about them offers conflicting accounts of their origins, customs, and characteristics. What is generally agreed upon is the fact that they were ruthlessly segregated, demeaned, and abused. Today the Cagots have vanished, mostly by quietly assimilating into French society, their stories buried under layers of time and history.
The Abbey of Camon was inhabited by a Benedictine order of monks beginning in the middle ages and offered shelter to travelers and pilgrims passing through the region. I took the liberty of transforming it into a nunnery for the purposes of this book.
Casa de Ganaderos is a cooperative of sheep breeders in Zaragoza, Spain, that dates back to 1218. The organization has kept kept meticulous records since its inception, some of which are archived online.
The city of Toulouse has archived many historic documents online, including the record books of notaries dating from the early 1500s.
The city of Perpignan passed from Aragónese to French rule and back again more than once over the course of history. During Mira’s time, Perpignan was controlled by Aragón.
Bartolomé Bermejo (c. 1440-c. 1495) was a Spanish artist who, unlike most of his contemporaries on the Iberian Peninsula, painted in the Flemish style. He is known for his exceptionally detailed backgrounds.
The character of Cornelia van der Zee is based on Flemish portrait artist Caterina van Hemessen (c. 1528-c. 1587).
The character of Albrecht Rumbach is based on German book printer/publisher Jean Rosembach, who established a business in Perpignan in 1500.
For information about other aspects of the research behind this book (or if you just love to geek out on history) please e-mail the author at [email protected].
Contemporary Cast of
Characters
Zari Durrell
Art historian
Portia Durrell
Zari’s mother
Gus Durrell
Zari’s brother
Vanessa Conlon
Professor at Fontbroke College, Oxford
Dotie Butterfield-Swinton
Professor at Fontbroke College, Oxford
John Drake
art conservator
Wil Bandstra
Adventurer and furniture builder
Filip Holst
Wil’s best friend
Hana Holst
Filip’s sister
Laurence Ceravet
Professor at University of Pau, France
Monsieur Mendieta
Zari’s elderly neighbor in Pau
Andreas Gutknecht
art broker based in Switzerland
Historical Cast of
Characters
Miramonde (Mira) de Oto
artist
Pelegrín de Oto
Mira’s brother; Baron of Oto
Alejandro de Oto
Mira’s brother
Arnaud de Luz
shepherd of Ronzal; cabinetmaker
Elena de Arazas
midwife and healer in the Pyrenees mountains
Xabi Mendieta
Basque nomadic shepherd
Brother Johan Arros
prior at the monastery of San Juan de la Peña
Sister Agathe of Belarac
nun at the abbey of Belarac
Carlo Sacazar
Aragónese merchant
Mother Amadina Sacazar
Carlo’s sister, abbess of a convent in Nay
Sebastian de Scolna
Flemish painter and Mira’s teacher
Lord Esteven de Vernier
Toulouse merchant of woad and wool
Lady de Vernier
his wife
Blanca, Sophie, Sandrine
their children
Heloise
servant of Lord and Lady de Vernier
Deedit
Cagot woman
Rose
Deedit’s baby
Lady de Moncada
noblewoman of Perpignan
Albrecht Rumbach
bookmaker of Perpignan
Lady de Berral
noblewoman of Valley de Maury
Lord de Berral
her husband
Cornelia van der Zee
Flemish portrait artist
About the Author
Amy Maroney lives in the Pacific Northwest wit
h her family. She studied English literature at Boston University and worked for many years as a writer and editor of nonfiction. Mira’s Way is her second novel. The third book in the series is underway.
If you enjoyed this book, please take a moment to leave a review online or spread the word to family and friends.
Join Amy’s readers group and get occasional spam-free e-mails with news about her next books (plus giveaways and deals on other great reads) at www.amymaroney.com.
Acknowledgements
My gratitude once again to everyone I thanked last time around for The Girl from Oto. In addition, I wish to thank the following people. They helped make Mira’s Way what it is and assisted me with the marketing and promotion pieces of this journey.
Deepest thanks to art conservator Nina Olsson, for her generous gifts of time, resources, and a delicious cup of tea. To Sara Starbuck, for insightful and comprehensive editing, and for her support of my writing and my story. To Amy Compton, for being a superfan and for helping me tackle the murky waters of marketing and promotion. To my parents-in-law JoAnn and Paul Maroney, for tirelessly promoting The Girl from Oto and getting it into the hands of influencers. To Margie Goodman, for her faith in me and her advocacy of my work. And to everyone who read and enjoyed The Girl from Oto and took the time to leave a review or spread the word to friends—thank you from the bottom of my heart.
