The Last Summer of the Camperdowns (37 page)
B
Y HER INTELLIGENCE, HER
warmth and her humor, you shall know her—the elegant Molly Friedrich elevates the role of agent to the status of a calling. It’s a privilege to have her in my corner. Many thanks as well to Lucy Carson for her insights and support, to Nichole LeFebvre for her thoughtful comments and to the always cheerful staff of the Friedrich agency, especially Molly Schulman.
I am so appreciative of my publisher, Liveright Publishing Corporation, with its rich history and its remarkable overseer Robert Weil, whose fantastic editorial and production staff have made this entire experience an honor and a pleasure.
Special thanks to the marvelous Katie Adams, one of the finest editors I have ever dealt with and who made immeasurable contribution to this novel. She has the rarest of editorial gifts, a talent to inspire. In no small part did she help me better understand the true nature of the story I was telling. I can think of no greater gift to bestow on any writer than the opportunity to work with Katie Adams.
Much gratitude also to the fabulous authors, editors and friends, Lauren Baratz-Logsted and Emily Heckman, the most generous of spirits. I am forever in their debt.
Thanks and much love to my sisters, Rooney and Virginia, for everything that they do and for
laughing at my jokes
(to my kids: take note) and to Andy for always being there and to my mother and all that she has meant to me. To my husband, George and my children, Caitlin, Flannery, Rory and Connor—you have my love, my respect and my faith and to you I bequeath my prolapsed uterus and my treasured dog-hair collection; may the latter cling to you as it has clung to me. Thanks for keeping my life real!
I would like to take a moment to credit the poetry of the Indonesian writer, Chairil Anwar, from whose beautiful poem,
Aku
, I borrowed the memorable phrase: I want to live another thousand years. Also, when Greer comments that grave digging isn’t cheerful, she is referencing an observation from Rudyard Kipling that appears in his short story,
At the Pit’s Mouth.
Elements of this story were born in my first experience of the life-altering view from the edge of a soaring dune overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Wellfleet, Cape Cod—a moment from which I am still in recovery. Although I have tried to remain true to the spirit of Wellfleet and the events of 1972, I have taken some liberties, such as tweaking dates and inventing locations, in keeping with the status of this story as fiction—in other words, I reserve the right to make things up.
So if the more gimlet-eyed among you stumble upon any inaccuracies when you’re reading, please be assured these aren’t mistakes—they are intentional. You will be doing both of us a favor.
It’s worth noting that the magnificent Gypsy horse, also called the Gypsy Vanner, didn’t make an official appearance in the United States until 1996, through the dedicated efforts of Dennis and Cindy Thompson, though I like to believe that Gin Whiffet tried mightily to make it happen two decades earlier.
I would be remiss to leave unmentioned my three little buddies, the canine watercooler of Paddy, Ned and Archie, who not only keep me daily company as I write but who also share my abiding passion for
The Housewives
franchise—short of a diet consisting only in cupcakes and grape crush, who could ask for anything more?
Finally, to my late father, Arthur J. Kelly, with whom I shared the most wonderful creative partnership and to my daughter, Flannery Dean, with whom I continue to enjoy the same great blessing—thank you.
Copyright © 2013 by Elizabeth Kelly
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First Edition
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book,
write to Permissions, Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of
W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact
W. W. Norton Special Sales at [email protected] or 800-233-4830
Manufacturing by Courier Westford
Book design by Fearn Cutler de Vicq
Production manager: Julia Druskin
ISBN 978-0-87140-340-7
ISBN 978-0-87140-698-9(e-book)
Liveright Publishing Corporation
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110
W. W. Norton & Company Ltd.
Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street, London W1T 3QT
Apologize, Apologize!
