Acknowledgements

The making of this book has been an elegiac process. Julia Swindells’ death in the autumn of 2011 has cast a shadow over all that’s followed. Julia was my doctoral supervisor, my mentor, and my friend, and her loss is incalculable—to me personally, to her family and friends, and to her colleagues and students. Completing this Handbook would have been an impossible task without the support and wisdom of many people. First and foremost, I want to thank Ben Bradnack, Julia’s husband, for his firm conviction that I could and should complete this book without her. I am also grateful to the wonderful contributors here for their hard work and patience. I owe particular thanks to Daniel O’Quinn and Paula Backscheider, for providing me with a helping hand when I needed it most, and to Misty Anderson, who stepped in at a late stage to produce a terrific chapter. Angie Sandhu also deserves special mention; she played a pivotal role in bringing shape, structure, and purpose to this project at its earliest and most crucial stage, and without her this Handbook would likely have remained an idea only. Finally, for their invaluable support and assistance I want to thank Jacqueline Baker and Jenny Townshend at Oxford University Press, Howard Emmens, and Morgan Vanek. This book is dedicated to the memory of Jane Moody and Julia Swindells, whose loss we feel so keenly in our lives and in the field of study to which they brought such tremendous passion and intelligence as scholars and teachers.