Contents (71)
- THE
- DAUGHTER
- MICHELLE FRANCES
- PROLOGUE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- EPILOGUE
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
AUTHOR’S NOTE
During the course of writing this novel, an extraordinary piece of news hit the headlines in the summer of 2018. In a stunning blow to one of the world’s largest agrochemical companies, jurors in California told Monsanto that they must pay $289 million in damages to a man dying of cancer, which he alleges was caused by exposure to Roundup, one of the world’s most popular herbicides. Lawyers for this man – who worked as a school groundskeeper, regularly spraying the sports fields – uncovered corporate documents that indicated that Monsanto had long known about, and covered up, the dangers in using their products. Monsanto is appealing. They argue that Roundup, a glyphosate-based product, is safe. They claim that the evidence has been misrepresented.
Despite Monsanto attempting to stop their internal emails and reports being available to the public during the course of the trial, the judge overruled them, and they can be found readily on the Internet. They make for sober – and astonishing – reading.
It’s not just in the USA where stories of the dangers of herbicide and pesticide spraying are hitting the headlines. Here in the UK, chemicals are regularly sprayed on fields, and there are numerous reports of the catastrophic harm it can cause to those living or working nearby. A simple search on the Internet will reveal a plethora of information on this highly contentious subject: everything from reports on agrochemical corporations’ tactics to harass journalists, conspire with regulators and hide and distort scientific reports, to articles on those countries currently working to ban glyphosate or restrict its use. The personal testimonies of the dozens and dozens of people affected leave you with your heart in your mouth.
The characters and scenarios in this book are all a work of fiction but are drawn from interviews, evidence and reports on the use of pesticides and herbicides in our fields here in the UK, and around the world.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to my very special editor, Trish Jackson; I am forever grateful for your guidance and insight. Also to Jayne Osborne, Rosie Wilson, Mel Four, Sam Sharman, Eloise Wood, Karen Whitlock, Lucy Wai, Becky Lloyd, Stuart Dwyer, Rebecca Kellaway, Holly Martin, Andy Joannou and everyone at Pan Macmillan who worked so hard to get this book published.
Gaia Banks, I’m very lucky to have you as my agent. Also huge thanks to the wonderful Lucy Fawcett and Alba Arnau, Markus Hoffman and Joel Gotler.
I would like to express a very heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped me while I was researching this book. Georgina Downs, who tirelessly campaigns to change the law on pesticide and herbicide spraying on our fields. Hannah Price-Harries, thank you for all the time you gave up patiently answering my ‘what if’ litigation questions; you are a legal genius. Viki Hill and Soroya Thethi, your passion and steadfastness in cancer care is awe-inspiring. Anna Stimson, thank you so much for all the police procedural knowledge and advice. All the mothers, whose stories of campaigning for justice for their children have inspired me. Thank you also to both Nicholas Parton of Opus Pear Tree Forensic Accounting and Karim Kiffin of Kiffin Consulting for the insight into the world of forensic accounting, and I’m sorry, Karim, that the novel didn’t end up in Jamaica!