The Ice Child (50 page)

My gratitude also goes to Dan Moore for the information he provided about Gjoa Haven, and to R. K. Headland, the archivist at the Scott Polar Research Institute. Similarly, I acknowledge the great detail of Franklin supplied in Scott Cookman’s
Iceblink
, which I read with interest.

David C. Woodman’s book,
Strangers Among Us
, presents the tantalizing theory that some of the crew may have survived—returning to the abandoned ships for another winter, or traveling eastward toward Hudson Bay. There is plenty of Inuit testimony that points to these possibilities, but, sadly, nothing concrete or material to support it.

I retrieved many polar-bear facts from Ian Stirling’s book
Polar Bears
, Kennan Ward’s
Journeys with the Ice Bear
, and Barry Lopez’s
Arctic Dreams
. They will all be only too well aware of the near impossibility of releasing motherless cubs back into the wild. But there is always hope. Especially in fiction.

As regards the modern-day story, I received an incredible amount of help on the theme of aplastic anemia.

First and foremost I would like to thank Paul Veys, the transplant surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital, who advised me on the possibility of John matching Sam as a bone-marrow donor.

Secondly, my heartfelt thanks go out to two families who have had firsthand experience of this illness: Stuart and Karen Heaton, and their amazing daughters Emma and Beth; Shaun and Sheila Burrowes, and their sons Elliott and Nathaniel. Both families were kind enough to meet me and offer all kinds of detail. They were generous to a fault in the most difficult of circumstances. Their combined courage reminded me so much of the Franklin crews—that same solidarity, and superhuman determination to face down a nightmare. If you have been touched by Sam’s story at all, please remember the real-life families who need bone marrow donors right now.

Linda Hartnell at the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust in London gave me hours of her valuable time, explaining the intricacies of donor matching, for which I thank her.

Also Bryony Dettmar, of the Aplastic Anemia Support Group in the UK, who put me in touch with the Heaton and Burrowes families. And Denise Curtis, who spoke to me about her children David and Hannah.

Those who have experienced the devastation of aplastic anemia will realize that Sam’s illness and treatment proceed at a possibly faster rate than normal, and Bill Elliott’s attraction for Jo leads him to reveal more than might usually be the case. I ask those who know far more about this experience than I do to please excuse the shortened time scale in the story.

If there are errors in any of the above themes, that error is mine, and not due to any of the sources quoted above.

Lastly, I would like to give my deepest thanks to all those who have supported me through the writing of this book:

My agent, Sara Fisher, fellow traveler and friend on the extraordinary roller coaster that was the year 2000.

Barbara Rozycki, for her confidence in me. Ursula Mackenzie and my editor, Francesca Liversidge, and all the team at Transworld. Carole Baron and Brian Tart and the Dutton team in New York. The votes of confidence and kind messages from so many involved in the publication of
The Ice Child
worldwide.

Julie Goddard, who made sure I didn’t sink.

Stu Blunsom and Dale Patfield, Astrid Gessert, and Anne Corbin, for helping me to visualize the future. The Thursday Group, for their selfless enthusiasm and support. Stuart Heaton, my researcher when the going got tough.

Ken McGregor, who always believed the time would come.

And, most important of all, my daughter Kate.

About the Author

Elizabeth Cooke lives in Dorset in southern England and is the author of fourteen novels, many of which she wrote under the pseudonym Elizabeth McGregor, as well as a work of nonfiction,
The Damnation of John Donellan: A Mysterious Case of Death and Scandal in Georgian England
. Acclaimed for her vivid, emotionally powerful storytelling and rigorous historical accuracy, Cooke has developed an international reputation. She is best known for her novels
Rutherford Park
and
The Ice Child
. Her work has been translated into numerous languages.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2001 by Elizabeth McGregor

Cover design by Mimi Bark

ISBN: 978-1-5040-0692-7

This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

345 Hudson Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com

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