Wildwing (28 page)

AUTHOR’S NOTE

I love entering another time, or another world, and that’s one of the reasons I love research. But once I’m in that world, I have no qualms about taking liberties with the facts for the sake of my story. Addy would have had to speak French, not English, in Sir Hugh’s castle. Falcons would have been hooded much of the time. And so on.

One of the best things about being a writer is that it forces you to be brave, in life as well as on the page. Because of Addy’s story, I met some amazing people and birds. I heard a gyrfalcon slash through a crisp blue sky. I saw a falconer sneak low through wet grass, his dogs silent at his side, toward a pond of ducks, while a peregrine circled overhead. The relationship I witnessed between a volunteer and a rescued wild falcon informed Will’s feelings about wild birds in this book. Sharing these experiences was such a gift.

The church in Little Pembleton is based on the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Iffley, England. There are wonderful pictures online, showing those rows of watchful bird heads carved around the door (http://www.iffley.co.uk/, http://www.sacred-destinations. com/england/oxford-iffley-church). Eustace’s letters were inspired by those of Simon de Senliz, a thirteenth-century steward to Ralph de Nevill, who was a bishop and chancellor to King Henry III (W. H. Blaauw in
Sussex Archaeological Collections Illustrating the History and Antiquities of the County
, v. III, 1850, pp. 35–76). Eustace, the wily fellow, may have lifted several phrases from these letters for his own use. Pilgrim is named after one of Henry Ill’s peregrines. Mr. Greenwood’s song, “My Sweetheart’s the Man in the Moon” (words and music by James Thornton) was a hit in England in 1892, several years before Will was born. Pamela Horn’s wonderful book on domestic service,
Life Below Stairs in the 20th Century
(Stroud, U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 2001), makes clear how opportunities for women changed with the First World War, shortly after Addy’s return at the end of my novel.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My heartfelt thanks to everyone who gave so generously of their time, knowledge, wisdom, and support as I wrote
Wildwing
. Falconer Randy Carnahan took me hawking with his peregrine and goshawk, and answered innumerable questions with a depth of knowledge and sense of humor that made research a joy. Many thanks to Cascades Raptor Center, volunteer Jean Daugherty, and Leia the peregrine; to Bob Welle for a day with gyrfalcons, and for making sure I heard a falcon’s descent ripping the air; to Austin Moller for the horses; and to Susan Fletcher, who said, “I know a falconer,” and whose
Flight of the Dragon Kyn
planted a seed for my interest. Thanks to Michael Faletra, Medievalist extraordinaire, for showing me the castle of my dreams and for looking at drafts for historical inconsistencies. All errors (whether hawking or historical), as well as willful deviations made for the sake of the story, are mine and mine alone.

My thanks to Susan Blackaby, Susan Fletcher, Eileen Pettycrew, and Linda Zuckerman for invaluable feedback and insight on various drafts. Words can’t express my appreciation to Elisabeth Benfey for helping me figure out both story and life. To my daughter, Kate Whitman, one of the most perceptive readers I know: You see right to the heart of things and help me get there. Thank you.

It is a gift to work with all the good people of Greenwillow, who care so deeply about making great books. Special thanks to my editor, Steve Geck, whose vision, enthusiasm, and trust mean the world to me; to Lois Adams, for her sharp eye and kind heart; and to Sylvie Le Floc’h, for a cover that blows my socks off. And many thanks to my wonderful agent, Nancy Gallt, for a nudge at the right time to the right ending.

Most of all, thank you, my dearest Richard, Sam, and Kate. I love you.

Copyright

I am indebted to the authors of the following books, which I consulted for research: J. A. Baker,
The Peregrine
(New York: New York Review Books, 2005); Frank Lyman Beebe and Harold Melvin Webster,
North American Falconry and Hunting Hawks
(Denver: North American Falconry and Hunting Hawks, 1989); John Cummins,
The Art of Medieval Hunting: The Hound and the Hawk
(Edison, N. J.: Castle Books, 2003); Casey A. Wood and Florence Marjorie Fyfe, editors,
The Art of Falconry, Being the De Arte Venandi cum Avibus of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen
(Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1943); Nancy Goldstone,
Four Queens: The Provençal Sisters Who Ruled Europe
(New York: Penguin Books, 2008); Marcy Cottrell Houle,
Wings for My Flight: The Peregrine Falcons of Chimney Rock
(Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1991); Margaret Wade Labarge,
A Baronial Household of the Thirteenth Century
(New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1965); and Robin S. Oggins,
The Kings and Their Hawks: Falconry in Medieval England
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004).

This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used to advance the fictional narrative. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.

Wildwing
Copyright © 2010 by Emily Whitman

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Edition © AUGUST 2010 ISBN: 978-0-062-01189-3

www.harperteen.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

    Whitman, Emily.
    Wildwing / by Emily Whitman.
    p. cm.
    “Greenwillow Books.”
    Summary: In 1913 England, fifteen-year-old Addy is a lowly servant, but when she gets inside an elevator car in her employer’s study, she is suddenly transported to a castle in 1240 and discovers that she is mistaken for the lord’s intended bride.
    ISBN 978-0-06-172452-7 (trade bdg.)
    [1. Time travel—Fiction. 2. Social classes—Fiction. 3. Mistaken identity—Fiction. 4. Peregrine falcon—Fiction. 5. Falcons—Fiction. 6. Great Britain—History—1066-1687—Fiction.] I. Title. PZ7.W5924Wi 2010 [Fic]—dc22 2009044189

10 11 12 13 14 CG/RRDB 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION

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