Escape (50 page)

Grateful thanks to my editor Elizabeth Cowell for her perception,
intelligence, hard work and remarkable ability to see the whole in the
detail, Vanessa Mickan-Gramazio for her initial invaluable structural
advice, and Nikki Christer for her enduring editorial integrity (and
patience!), always.

I also want to express my gratitude to: Jytte Beauman for her
extraordinary insight and wisdom; Fiona Inglis, Barbara Fienberg,
Marie-Claire Marquis and Kathy Muir for their extremely helpful
suggestions and responses; Noah Sharwood for his professional
expertise and panache in magic; Barbara Bertini for her assistance in
Italian; and always, my family, for their sustaining encouragement and
stamina over the years.

Thanks also to Ruth Brandon for her fascinating book, The
Life and
Many Deaths of Harry Houdini
. The unique interpretations and portraits
were inspirational in the development of this novel. (It's also a great
read!) Many thanks, too, to the magician and author John Novak for his
books on magic: The
Art of Escape
, Volume 2, 'Selected Chain Escapes';
Volume 4, 'Escapes from a Straitjacket'; Volume 5, 'The Bohemian
Torture Escape'; and Volume 8, 'The Protégé (A Full Evening of
Magic and Escapes!)'. His generous breadth of advice and step-by-step
instructions were fundamental to my understanding of magic.

Although all the characters in this book are fictional, the 'Climate
Coolers' and their
1 Million Women
campaign are real and existing at
this time of publishing. Every woman can join. For more information,
see the website
www.1millionwomen.com.au.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge Anita Jeram for her lovely
book, The
Most Obedient Dog in the World
, and make apologies, too,
for changing names and situations in it slightly to suit my plot.