The Snake Stone (39 page)

I’d like to thank the usual suspects among my family and friends for their encouragement and advice, not least Richard Goodwin, who read the manuscript at an early stage—and hopes that Amélie will make it back to Istanbul one day.

Berrin Torolsan inspires cooks and scholars alike with her writing in
Cornucopia
, that beautiful and indispensable quarterly devoted to all things Turkish. Not only has she generously shared her knowledge of Ottoman cookery and history with me, she has also read the book with a critical eye. I should point out that all its errors, deviations, and flagrant misrepresentations are mine alone: fiction, I’m afraid, is no respecter of fact.

Translators, editors, proofreaders, and designers around the world brought Yashim’s debut in
The Janissary Tree
to life in thirty-two languages. Thanks to Agnieszka Kuc in Poland, Nina van Rossem in Holland, Fortunato Israel, and my Italian translator, Cristiana Mennella, who made L’Albero dei Giannezzeri such a successful giallo. I have been grateful for the enthusiasm of, among others, Sylvie Audoly in Paris and Elena Ramírez in Barcelona.

Sarah Chalfant at the Wylie Agency introduced me to this other world. My thanks to the team, but above all to Charles Buchan for his tireless and good-humored efforts on Yashim’s behalf. I have been lucky to have two superb
editing
editors, Julian Loose at Faber in the U.K. and Sarah Crichton at Farrar, Straus and Giroux in New York, whose wisdom I have always received gratefully, and have generally acted upon.

Much of this book was written far away from the rumpus of family life, with no interruptions, no battles for control of the computer. My son, Izaak, has grown tall and learned much. This book is for him.

J
ASON
G
OODWIN
fell under the spell of Istanbul while studying Byzantine history at Cambridge University. Following the success of his book
A Time for Tea: Travels Through China and India in Search of Tea
, he made a six-month pilgrimage across Eastern Europe to reach Istanbul for the first time, a journey recounted in
On Foot to the Golden Horn: A Walk to Istanbul
. He is also the author of
Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire
and
The Janissary Tree
, the first book featuring Investigator Yashim. He lives in Sussex, England, and is married with four children.