Necessary as Blood

for the collages I was creating in my head, and who was kind enough to answer my detailed questions and even sent me fabric samples.
    Thanks to Rosalie Stevens and Ian Richardson, for their friendship and hospitality, and especially for introducing me to the Ivy!
    Thanks to Barb Jungr, the ‘Great Conduit‘, for her friendship and support as well as her inspiring talent.
    Jan Gephardt was kind enough to share her amazing journals with me, although I‘m afraid I didn‘t do them justice.
    Kevin Caruth of Urban Gentry, London Tours for the Savvy Visitor, gave me a tantalizing glimpse of the East London art world (and blisters).
    Steve Ullathorne took terrific author photos, fabulous London photos, and gave ready help and advice on all things London.
    Much appreciation to the staff at the Hoxton, Shoreditch, who looked after me well during a long sojourn in the East End, providing wonderfully quirky maps and suggestions, and to the staff at the Hotel Lumen in Dallas for giving me much-needed sanctuary, and to Brandt Wood for the introduction.
    As always, Marcia Talley, Kate Charles and the members of the Every Other Tuesday Night Writer‘s Group provided plot-fest and support, and special thanks to those brave first readers: Diane Hale, Steve Copling, Tracy Ricketts and especially Gigi Norwood, who knows all too well how much writers (or at least this one) can whine.
    Gigi Norwood also taught me to use her sewing machine, and Tracy Ricketts provided advice on social-service matters and, just as importantly, shopping.
    Arabella Stein first introduced me to the beautiful services provided by Humanist celebrants in the UK.
    My agent, Nancy Yost, is just simply the best.
    I could not have written this book without the support and encouragement of my editor, Carrie Feron, and all the team at HarperCollins who continue to do such a wonderful job on the books.
    Rick and Kayti deserve extra-special thanks, as always, for all they do.
    Any mistakes are entirely my own.

Permissions Acknowledgments

    The extract from Journey Through a Small Planet by Emanuel Litvinoff is reproduced by kind permission of David Higham Associates Ltd and Penguin Books Ltd.

    The extracts from 18 Folgate Street: The Tale of a House in Spitalfields by Dennis Severs are reproduced by kind permission of Random House Ltd.

    The extracts from On Brick Lane by Rachel Lichtenstein are reproduced by kind permission of Penguin Books Ltd.

    The extracts from East End Tides by Gilda O‘Neill are reproduced by kind permission of Penguin Books Ltd.

    The extracts from Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth are reproduced by kind permission of Orion Publishing Group Ltd.

    The extracts from The New East End: Kingship, Race and Conflict by Geoff Dench, Kate Gavron and Michael Young are reproduced by kind permission of Profile Books Ltd.

    The extracts from Salaam Brick Lane by Tarquin Hall, © 2005 Tarquin Hall, are reproduced by kind permission of John Murray (Publishers) Ltd.

    Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders of material reproduced in this book. If any have been inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make restitution at the earliest opportunity.