Throughout, I received an incredible amount of support. Here I want to thank Matthias—being partnered with a writer can be rough at the best of times, and it’s your encouragement and understanding that allows me to have it all. To Montse: it’s you who makes me finish a chapter, and this book wouldn’t have gotten done without you. Mama and Micha, thank you for letting me boomerang and for giving me the nineteenth-century gentleman treatment so I could focus entirely on writing for a bit. I would like to thank my father for helping me access historical sources about Mount Lebanon, and my sister Josiane, who took the time to spar with me despite her looming bar exam. I’m grateful to Melanie and Jemima, for their fierce enthusiasm and input.
To the brilliant Roshani Chokshi and Christine Wells, I can hardly thank you enough for wading through the first ten chapters of draftiest draft and making them so much better with your suggestions. I also owe the Lyonesses, for bearing with me, always ready with advice; I’m lucky to be part of such a talented and supportive group of women. Much love to my fellow authors who add my work to their towering reading lists and let their light shine on it; in particular Kate Quinn, Jodi Picoult, Mimi Matthews, Chanel Cleeton, Julia Quinn, and Beth O’Leary. Dr. Mira Assaf Kafantaris, I’m hugely grateful that you took the time to share your thoughtful perspective on the historical aspects of this novel (though any errors or oversights are of course mine and Elias’s).
Finally, I owe a debt of gratitude to my editor, Sarah Blumenstock, and my agent, Kevan Lyon—your professional acclaim is out there for everyone to see, so here I wish to highlight the great kindness, tremendous patience, and unwavering positivity that you have shown me from start to finish.