Tiffany Girl

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This will be the first time in my career that my dad will not have read my book.

I love you and miss you so much, Dad.

In Memory of

Harold LaVerne Graham

Both before and after I lost my dad, my beloved PIT Crew (Personal Intercessory Team) committed to stand in the gap for me every single day while I was writing this book. Their commitment, reassurance, comfort, and unfailing diligence helped me make my page counts one day at a time until the manuscript was complete.

So it is with a full heart and much emotion that I thank:

Catherine Brake

Daree Stracke

Norma Jean Ursey

When gentle suggestions for the manuscript came in from my wonderful and talented editor, my PIT Crew stepped in again and were joined by my Community Group (whom my husband and I meet with every Tuesday night for fun and fellowship).

York and Robyn Whipple

Mark and Lisa Chadwell

David and Karen Danielson

Jodie Faltynski

April Garcia

Ryan Walters

Thank you for the support, the encouragement, and the shoulders you offered during this incredibly difficult time. I will never, ever forget it.

Bless all of you a hundredfold to how you have blessed me.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I
knew I wanted to write about the Tiffany Girls ever since my mom told me of their existence four years ago. When I found out there was a traveling museum exhibit featuring them, I flew my sister and assistant, Gayle Evers, to Florida to see it because I was on deadline with one of my other books.

A few months after that, she flew to the Northeast to scan thousands of pages of handwritten letters by Clara Driscoll, the manager of Tiffany’s Women’s Department in the 1890s. It took Gayle an entire week, working from morning to night. She then spent an untold number of months preparing them for me. Those letters were the cornerstone of my research, and I could not have done the book without them. It was an enormous job, and I am so very grateful to her for all she did. She has now retired and is taking a well-deserved rest and enjoying a brand-new grandbaby—her fourth. Thank you so much, Sis. You’re the best!

My critique partner—gifted author Meg Moseley—went above and beyond this time around. She has been my critique partner for ten years and is the only person on the planet who sees my work “raw.” I send it to her each week—and she sends me hers. We critique each other’s material, send it back, then do it all over again the following week. Sometimes, however, life gets in the way. This
year was one of those years, and I found myself writing the lion’s share of the book very close to my deadline.

As a result, I sent Meg my chapters daily instead of weekly. She turned them around in twenty-four hours most every time. She did it again when my revisions came in. I have no words to express what her sacrifice meant to me, both professionally and emotionally. Thank you, my friend. If there’s ever anything you need, I’m your gal.

My editor, Beth Adams, offered suggestions, deletions, and additions to the manuscript that brought it up to a whole new level. She was also extremely patient and understanding during one of the most difficult seasons of my life. Thank you, Beth. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

My new agent, Lacy Lynch with Dupree/Miller, has swooped in with mounds of energy, ideas, and a go-get-’em attitude. Thanks for all you’ve done, Lacy. I stand amazed.

I can’t wait for you, my readers, to see the photos and illustrations we’ve included in this book. Since our heroine, Flossie Jayne, is an aspiring artist, I thought it would be fun to sprinkle in a few pieces of art she’d done. So I contacted the talented Monica Bruenjes—who did the wonderful stop-animation for my video adventure RompThrough1893.com. Problem is, Flossie hasn’t yet perfected her craft, so I wasn’t sure what Monica’s reaction would be, but she was very gracious and tried to make her work look “less than professional.” (I still think the results are delightful. Just can’t hide that talent under a bushel, even when she tries to.) In any event, I so appreciate her agreeing to be “Flossie” and on such a tight timetable. When I wasn’t able to secure licenses for an existing image of the Tiffany Chapel, Monica also agreed to do a rendering for us. It is simply gorgeous, and I’m so thrilled to be able to include it. Thank you, Monica!

There were many other folks along the way who offered wonderful contributions and information about our subject
matter. Lindsy Parrot, the director/curator at the Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass in New York; Vincenzo Rutigliano at the Schwarzman Building of the New York Public Library; authors Kellie Coates Gilbert, Kristan Higgins, Jenna Kernan, Jenny Gardiner, Miriam Berman, and Richard Alvarez; Riccardo Gomes of the East New York Project; Lauren Sodano at the Strong National Museum of Play; Arlie Sulka of Lillian Nassau LLC; Elisha Gist; and Michael Gurrola. A huge thanks to all of you!

NOTE TO READER

I
wanted to warn you that privacy as defined by a turn-of-the-century Victorian looks a great deal different than how we, today, define it. So don’t be alarmed if fellow lodgers at a boardinghouse move freely in and out of one another’s rooms without permission and with no regard as to whether the occupant of the room is even present. This was the case in private boardinghouses which catered to genteel urbanites, as well as those of more modest means.This trend is supported in many resources I studied, including first-person accounts.

I also wanted to let you know that what was politically correct in the Victorian era is hardly so today. While writing this novel, I worked extremely hard to depict what society believed at that time and have presented things from an 1893 viewpoint as best I could. (So please don’t kill the messenger!) As for the exposés our protagonist writes for his newspaper, rather than making them up, I decided to record, in many cases almost word for word, quick little snippets from articles that were written during the time. (And which are, of course, in the public domain.) I did this mostly because they were such eye-opening glimpses into our past.