Rosetta (30 page)

There are many extremely generous people who made this book possible. First and foremost among them are my mother, who never hesitated to share her memories even though this could not always have been either easy or comfortable; and my father, without whose rare combination of skill, curiosity and determination much of the research that informs
Rosetta
would have been unavailable.

Among the substantial number of institutions and individuals who rendered invaluable assistance are: Julianne Barlow, Archivist, and Sarah Salter, former Alumni Manager, Genazzano; Elizabeth Brown, Library and Research Officer, Australian Racing Museum; David Dale; Silvana Ferraris, Open Space Booking Officer, Randwick City Council; Jane de Teliga; Faber Academy; Dr Robert Fisher; Nancy Goldstein; Martin Indyk; Michael Joel; Evelyn Juers; David Kent; Philip Krass; Patti Miller; Judy Morgan; Gloria Parry; Frank Solomon; the NSW Government Office of Environment and Heritage; the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages; the Chinese Museum, Melbourne; the Museum of Sydney; the National Library of Australia; the State Library of New South Wales; the State Library of Victoria; and Waverley Municipal Library.

I would like to express particular appreciation to my friend and trusted reader, Susan Williams, for her enthusiasm and encouragement.

A special debt of gratitude is owed to Mr Frederick Koch for inviting me to Villa Torre Clementina at Cap Martin, France, and to Mr Koch's property manager, Mark Ryan.

I am also grateful to Jan Worthington, my father's principal researcher. Sadly, many of the people who were interviewed by either Jan or my father, or who helped in other ways, have now passed away. I remain, as was my father, very thankful for their contribution.

I have been especially fortunate to have the support of my agent, Catherine Drayton, my inspiring editor, Fiona Daniels, and the exceptional Random House team, including commissioning editor Sophie Ambrose and publishing director Nikki Christer. Designer Sandy Cull created the cover of my dreams. All brought to
Rosetta
the best possible combination of passion and dedication.

When one writes a book the people closest to the author have a great deal with which to contend. My children, Bennett and Arabella, were unfailingly supportive, as was my husband, Philip Mason. Philip also provided much practical assistance, enabling me to both embark upon far-flung research forays and, indeed, continue to write
Rosetta
without losing my way.

Alexandra Joel is the author of
Best Dressed: 200 Years of Fashion in Australia
and
Parade: The Story of Fashion in Australia
. Both books detail the development of fashion, style and national identity.

She is a former editor of the Australian edition of
Harper's Bazaar
and of
Portfolio
, Australia's first magazine for working women. She has also been a regular contributor of feature articles, interviews and reviews to a number of national and metropolitan publications.

More recently, Alexandra has been a practising counsellor and psychotherapist. She is an honours graduate from the University of Sydney.