From the beginning, I wanted to weave Lulu’s story with that of another character, Elfriede von Kleist Thorpe, who first appeared offstage as the (supposedly) deceased mother of Johann von Kleist in my earlier novel, Along the Infinite Sea. Having given her such a tragic backstory, I wanted to write more about my German woman who wove her fate into Great Britain at such an interesting moment in history, and then bore a son of possibly murky national loyalty. To understand her and prewar Germany further, I had the great pleasure of reading the brilliant and utterly mesmerizing 1913: The Year Before the Storm by Florian Illies, which catapulted me straight into my setting, wholly inspired. Elfriede forms the moral backbone of The Golden Hour, and her journey is that of women everywhere.

Acknowledgments

As with all my books, so many wonderful people played a role in the creation of The Golden Hour, starting with my editor, Rachel Kahan, who planted the first idea in my head a few years ago and kept at it with her watering can until the buds began to form. Huge thanks to her and to the rest of the William Morrow team—publisher Liate Stehlik, marketing maven Tavia Kowalchuk, publicity panjandrum Lauren Truskowski, branding brigadier Kathryn Gordon, and many others—for making it their mission to put my novels in the hands of readers. Special thanks to my copyeditor, Candace Levy, who had the dread task of catching all the little timeline errors and inconsistencies that occur in a book of complicated historical narratives, and to Mumtaz Mustafa for her gorgeous jacket design.

My literary agent, Alexandra Machinist of ICM, has been on my team from the beginning, as coach, general manager, and cheerleader all rolled into one. Huge thanks to her and to her capable assistant, Ruth Landry, for all the efforts I know about and especially for those I don’t.

This book is all about strong women and sisterhood, which I’m blessed to have in abundance in my life. Gratefulness always to the other two thirds of the Unibrain, Lauren Willig and Karen White, who have talked me down countless trees, untangled various plot threads, and poured all the necessary coffee and wine down my throat. To the extraordinarily generous and talented Elin Hilderbrand, no amount of thanks is sufficient—this woman is simply a superstar human being. It’s impossible to name all the other brilliant people who champion women writers and women’s writing, and who have lit so many candles in my life this past year. Thanks to you all, and with special gratitude to Andrea Katz of Great Thoughts, who always has our backs.

Thank you to my readers, new and old, who send the most lovely encouragement my way just when I need it most. I appreciate your kindness, your energy, and your loyalty, and I strive to be worthy of it with every book I write.