ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am indebted to the authors of numerous guidebooks for sale at the Tower of London. The Funeral Effigies of Westminster Abbey, edited by Anthony Harvey and Richard Mortimer, provided insight into the Abbey’s curious exhibits, though the story told here of the Duchess of Richmond and Lennox’s very real stuffed parrot is a flight of fantasy. Daniel Hahn’s wonderful The Tower Menagerie: The Amazing True Story of the Royal Collection of Wild Beasts was a fascinating source of information. My thanks also go to Dr. Elijah R. Behr, my super agent Gráinne Fox, and all at Doubleday. No animal was harmed in the writing of this novel.