The Ophelia Girls
Page 32
Sam Humphreys, for the clarity of your editorial vision and for your wisdom, kindness and encouragement. Alice Gray, for your galvanizing enthusiasm, for encouraging me to delve deeper into the parts I had set aside for being ‘too much’, and for the care you’ve taken with my novel at every stage. Rosie Wilson, Ellie Bailey, Neil Lang, Charlotte Wright, and everyone at Mantle and Pan Macmillan.
Nicole Angeloro, for your generous and insightful feedback which unearthed new threads of imagery and meaning for me in this novel, and for your support and enthusiasm. Lisa Glover, Liz Anderson, Emma Gordon, Martha Kennedy, and everyone at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
My first novel (and Hetty, Lucy, Heloise, Mary and all the animals), for everything you taught me about writing and editing.
Fellow authors, for your comradery. Booksellers, book bloggers, reviewers and publishing people for your support. Waterstones, for championing my first novel. The independent bookshops of Edinburgh for being the best bookshops in the land – Lighthouse Bookshop (thank you for giving me the first launch of my dreams!), Edinburgh Bookshop, Portobello Bookshop and Golden Hare Books.
Abbie Greaves, for the gossip/emotional scaffolding/laughter. Molly Aitken, for your sisterhood, for the hours and hours we’ve spent talking about the dark delights of storytelling, and for your immaculate taste.
My friends, who travelled to the launch of my first novel and checked in on me when I was editing my second. Among them: Leah Hazard, Nadine Aisha Jassat, Ursula Burger, Imogen Lambert, Aude Claret, Iza Vermesi, Katherine Harding and Sally Brammall.
Andy and Madeline (and Jack) for being legends. My parents for the fathomless depths of your love and support.
And those of you along the way who taught me how to swim.
The Ophelia Girls
Jane Healey studied English Literature at the University of Warwick. She was short-listed for the 2013 Bristol Short Story Prize, the 2014 Costa Short Story Award, the 2016 Commonwealth Short Story Prize and the 2017 Penguin Random House WriteNow mentoring programme. The Ophelia Girls is her second novel. Her first, The Animals at Lockwood Manor, was published in 2020. She lives in Edinburgh.
First published 2021 by Mantle
This electronic edition first published 2021 by Pan Macmillan
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
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ISBN 978-1-5290-1488-4
Copyright © Jane Healey 2021
Jacket images © Getty Images and Shutterstock
Author photograph © Alicia Clarke
Cover design by Neil Lang, Mantle Art Department.
The right of Jane Healey to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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