Book of Stolen Tales (51 page)

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Credits

Map of contemporary cities, ancient sites (Dino Pulerà, Artery Studios, Toronto)

Map of European destinations (Dino Pulerà, Artery Studios, Toronto)

Babylonian horse (Permission from Made 4 Museum, California, U.S.A.)

Frontispiece,
Lo Cunto de li Cunti
(E.P. Dutton and Company, 1932)

Design for metalwork book cover (Hans Holbein the Younger, 1498–1543; public domain, Wikimedia Commons)

Portrait of Giambattista Basile (E.P. Dutton and Company, 1932)

Portrait of José de Ribera (Public domain, Wikimedia Commons)

Mesopotamian spindle whorl (Permission from Barakat Gallery, California, U.S.A.)

Pied Piper (August von Moersperg, copy of a glass window in Market Church, Lower Saxony, Germany, 1532; public domain, Wikimedia Commons)

“The Witch Comes on Board” (Henry Justice Ford, illustrator,
The Yellow Fairy Book
; public domain)

Mary Magdalene in the Desert
(José de Ribera, 1641; public domain, Wikimedia Commons)

Waldensians Massacre (Samuel Morland
, The History of the Evangelical Churches of Piedmont
, 1658; public domain)

The Talking Mirror of Lohr (Public domain, Wikimedia Commons)

Il Morbetto
(Marcantonio Raimondi, 1515–1516; public domain, Wikimedia Commons)

The Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night
(Henry Justice Ford, illustrator, Richard Burton, translator, 1850; public domain, Wikimedia Commons)

Acknowledgments

I imagine you, the reader, like me, have a collection of books that were precious possessions in childhood, evocative of the time our imagination first spread its wings. This second novel—the middle child in the Mesopotamian Trilogy—was a real thrill to write, in part because it took me back to those childhood stories and introduced me to a fascinating historical character, the gallant and courtly writer Giambattista Basile.

A whole team of people have devoted generous amounts of time, attention, and care to bring this “middle child” to life. President and Publisher Nicole Winstanley and Senior Editor Adrienne Kerr bring out great books time after time and have helped so many Canadian authors start out on a firm footing. Adrienne's sales intuition and admirable editorial skills are a rare combination in our world of books.

It is a privilege to work with the publishing team at Penguin Group (Canada), one I'm very grateful for. Don Robinson and Penguin's superb sales staff ; Beth Lockley and the talented marketing and publicity staff : Charidy Johnston, Robin Dutta-Roy, Laura Meyer, Phil Clarke, Rachel Geertsma, Giselle San Miguel, and Amy Smith. Copy editor Marcia Gallego and Managing Editor Mary Ann Blair, who does such a grand job on the production side. A real pleasure to work with you all.

Special thanks go to Victoria Skurnick (North America) and Elizabeth Fisher (International) at the Levine Greenberg Literary Agency. Gifted agents I feel so lucky to have.

The sage advice of friends, family, and supporters made all the difference to me on this second journey to publication. Thank you for holding my hand through the roller coaster ride: my sister Ellen Wall and daughter Kenlyn Hughson, Max Allen, Pat Armstrong, Jan Armstrong, Cathy Astolfo, Jayne Barnard, Martha Paley Francescato, Ilkona Halsband, Jane Burfield, Barbara Callway, Madeleine Harris-Callway, Melodie Campbell, Donna Carrick, Vicki Delany, Lisa De Nikolits, Warren and Christine John, Tanis Mallow, Rosemary McCracken, Teresa Pagnutti, John Pendergrast, Lisbie Rae, Jan Raymond, Robert Rotenberg, Linda Smith, Martha Tracey, Christine Von Aesch, Rob and Caroline Wall, and Denise Wilson.

Many thanks to Stephen Mader of Artery Studios and Dino Pulerà for his excellent illustrations.

Fayez Barakat of Barakat Gallery in Beverly Hills, California, has been most generous in allowing me to use his image of the Mesopotamian spindle whorl. I also greatly appreciate the help of Marodeen from Made 4 Museum in Claremont, California, who provided the Assyrian horse image.

Getting to know the city of Naples, Italy, was a real bonus in the writing of this book. One of the highlights of my trip was a one-day custom tour by Limo Service of Naples. I recommend them to anyone traveling there.

Libraries play an important role in this novel and in real life—the Toronto Public Library has been such a useful resource. Finding a rare copy of Norman Penzer's English translation of
The Tale of Tales
and holding an even rarer edition of Straparola in the library's Osborne Collection were both essential to my work. So, too, the magnificent Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III di Napoli, where I saw Giambattista Basile's book firsthand. Whether owing to destruction during wartime or economic and ideological pressures, libraries around the world are facing many challenges. May they remain strong.