The Lost Sisterhood
Page 61
I should also point out that it was Dr. Pentz who first made me aware of the great efforts undertaken by the National Museum of Denmark to choose a sustainable position in the great and growing battle of artifact restitution. For those interested in reading more about this fascinating subject, I highly recommend Sharon Waxman’s excellent book Loot as well as The Medici Conspiracy by Peter Watson and Cecilia Todescini. Both studies are rich in detail and informed by careful research yet read like well-crafted suspense stories.
I am also grateful for the assistance of my good friend Mrs. Heather Epps, of Storrington, West Sussex, who very kindly read the entire manuscript with a special focus on British-English usage, and who graciously suffered all my Americanisms and naughty little jabs at the eccentricities of British peers and scholars. I was fortunate enough to be a Visiting Graduate Member of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, while finishing my Ph.D. on Latin historians a decade ago, and I trust that the reader—despite Diana Morgan’s tribulations—senses the immense admiration and gratitude I feel toward that splendid place and its uniquely gifted people.
My gratitude also goes out to Raatteen Portti Museum Director Marko Seppänen and author Tyyne Martikainen in Finland. It is thanks to their lifelong efforts and expertise that I have come to fully understand the tragedy of the Winter War that ruined the lives of so many thousands of Finns and Russians. Since coproducing the documentary film Fire and Ice: The Winter War of Finland and Russia I have been determined to help spread the awareness of the great work done by Tyyne Martikainen and her Finnish and Russian colleagues in an effort to trace the destinies of all the Finnish civilians who were taken hostage and sent away to camps so long ago.
I always tell my students that it takes more than one brain to turn a good story into a great book. That is certainly true in my case. I dread to imagine what Diana’s and Myrina’s quests would look like without the sound advice of the wonderful editors who helped me beat two wild stories into a manageable shape. What would I have done without the playful wisdom of Dr. Cordelia Borchardt at Fischer/Krüger, the soothing common sense of Iris Tupholme and Lorissa Sengara at HarperCollins Canada, or the relentless expertise of Dana Isaacson at Ballantine/Random House? The mind shudders. And I certainly would have been stranded on many an uninhabitable idea without my marvelously patient editor at Ballantine, Susanna Porter, whose eagle eye and expert touch, once again, have steered me safely home.
Needless to say, many more people have played a role in the birth of this book than I can properly thank here. The wonderful team at Ballantine has made everything a joy and is always there for me. In addition to Susanna Porter and Dana Isaacson, I would like to thank Libby McGuire, Jennifer Hershey, Kim Hovey, Vincent La Scala, Priyanka Krishnan, Susan Turner, Kristin Fassler, Ashley Woodfolk, Toby Ernst, Susan Corcoran, and Lisa Barnes for their enduring support and optimism. And here’s an extra shot of gratitude for Paolo Pepe, who created such a stunning cover.
I also owe a special thanks to my friends at Gyldendal in Copenhagen. Merete Borre and Vivi Vestergaard have lent ears to many unwieldy ideas, and their encouragement and can-do attitude have never wavered. Thanks also to the marvelous Danish translator Ulla Oxvig, as well as Anne Hjermitslev and Line Miller at Gyldendal, for working tirelessly until the happy end. Last but not least, a huge thanks to Harvey Macaulay at Imperiet, who—as usual—nailed the Danish cover in the first try.
Since the birth of Juliet in 2008, I have come to think of Maja Nikolic, Maria Aughavin, Victoria Doherty-Munro, Chelsey Heller, Angharad Kowal, and Stephen Barr at Writers House as family, and I cannot imagine a writing life without my fabulous agent, Dan Lazar, whose integrity and savoir faire is without compare. What I owe this magnificent team can never be contained in a simple “thank you.”
I have not yet mentioned my mother’s hand in this book; I simply don’t have the space. But rest assured she was there with me, riding camels in the Sahara and striding through the mud in Kalkriese, anticipating my every step and encouraging me all the way. Without her lifelong support and mind-boggling sacrifices I would never have realized my dream of becoming an author; even worse, I would never even have dared to nourish the dream in the first place.
But even with this army of amazing people behind me, I would not be who I am, nor have the drive to do what I do, without the precious love and support of my little girl and my darling husband, Jonathan. It may upset my secret sisters that I say this, but between you and me, if you’re so fortunate as to have captured the perfect male, peeling off that chain-mail bikini and becoming a part-time Amazon is not so bad after all.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ANNE FORTIER grew up in Denmark and divides her time between Europe and North America. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Juliet. Fortier also co-produced the Emmy Award—winning documentary Fire and Ice: The Winter War of Finland and Russia. She holds a Ph.D. in the history of ideas from Aarhus University, Denmark. The Lost Sisterhood is her second novel in English.
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ABOUT THE TYPE
This book was set in Perpetua, a typeface designed by the English artist Eric Gill, and cut by the Monotype Corporation between 1928 and 1930. Perpetua is a contemporary face of original design, without any direct historical antecedents. The shapes of the roman letters are derived from the techniques of stonecutting. The larger display sizes are extremely elegant and form a most distinguished series of inscriptional letters.
BY ANNE FORTIER
Juliet
The Lost Sisterhood
Copyright
The Lost Sisterhood
Copyright © 2014 by Anne Fortier.
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EPUB Edition FEBRUARY 2014 ISBN 9781443412483
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FIRST CANADIAN EDITION
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