The Illuminator (72 page)

John Ball was excommunicated around 1366 for inflammatory sermons advocating a classless society. According to historical sources, he urged the killing of lords and prelates. He was incarcerated in Maidstone Prison when the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 broke out but was released by Kentish rebels and accompanied them to London. After the rebellion collapsed, Ball was tried and hanged at Saint Albans.

About Julian of Norwich we know very little outside of her writings. She was the first woman to write in the English language. Her
Divine Revelations
have lately enjoyed a resurgence of interest, largely fostered by feminists who were intrigued by Julian's concept of a mother God. A close reading of her work certainly shows her to be an independent thinker for her times and a woman of deep and abiding faith. Historical documents indicate that she was still living as a recluse in Norwich as late as 1413, seven years after the demise of Bishop Despenser.

I
wish to acknowledge the readers who have given me valuable feedback during the writing of this book: Dick Davies, Mary Strandlund, and Ginger Moran, who critiqued my work when it was in its formative stage, and Leslie Lytle and Mac Clayton, who worked with me in the completion of it. Thanks also to Pat Wiser and to Noelle Spears (my youngest reader of seventeen), who read and commented on my final draft. A special thank-you is due to my writing partner of many years, Meg Wake Clayton, author of
The Language of Light,
who suffered with me through many drafts.

I wish also to acknowledge a debt to the writers from whom I have learned. Thanks to Manette Ansay for her valuable tips on the integration of internal and external landscape in fiction. Thanks to Valerie Miner for her excellent teaching on evoking a sense of place—one of the Half-Tom scenes developed from a writing exercise in her wonderful workshop in Key West—and thanks to Max Byrd for his excellent lecture on rhetorical devices delivered at the Squaw Valley Community of Writers workshop and for his timely and personal words of encouragement.

To my agent, Harvey Klinger, for rescuing me from the slough of the slush pile, and my editor, Hope Dellon, for her editorial skill and literary instincts, I offer heartfelt gratitude. I feel truly blessed to have two such consummate professionals on my side.

In the life of a writer, the importance of the role of encourager cannot be overstated. I wish to thank those who, with their words and actions, have helped me nurture my fragile dream of publication: Helen Wirth, who edited my first published short story; Dr. Jim Clark, for his professional advice and words of encouragement; the family members and friends who expressed interest and belief in my abilities, and finally, my love and appreciation to my husband, Don, whose unwavering support sustains me. Last, and most important, I thank the One from whom all blessings flow.