The letter wasn’t signed, but the woman who opened the letter knew exactly who it was from. She pinned it above her workstation so that she could read while she brewed wortroot tea and spun bandages and sharpened knives. She read it so often she could see the words in their spindly script when she closed her eyes.
My beating heart is still yours, the letter said, and I’ll be waiting for you.
acknowledgments
THIS BOOK BEGAN AS A RAMBLING email that I wrote to my agent, Dan Mandel, while I was flying cross-country from New York to Los Angeles. To Dan, thank you so much for having faith in this project and in me, and sending me the encouraging messages I need when I’m close to breakdown. I want to thank Sara Goodman, and the entire team at Wednesday, including Alexis, Vanessa, Rivka, and Mary, for all of their tireless work, and Kerri Resnick and Zachary Meyer for a beautiful book cover beyond my wildest dreams. I’m wildly lucky to have a family that’s willing to listen to all of my ranting ideas and celebrate my accomplishments and I’m especially grateful to my sister, Caroline, for reading every draft of this book. Heartfelt thanks to Katie Donahoe for her reading, her ideas, and her encouragement, and thank you to Ian Karmel, who supports me in every way it’s possible to support a person.
I used a number of books to help research the early nineteenth century and the history of medicine, including The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris, The Royal Art of Poison by Eleanor Herman, Dr. Mütter’s Marvels by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, The Knife Man by Wendy Moore, and The Lady and Her Monsters by Roseanne Montillo.