Heartless(138)

Lastly, I’m sure it will surprise no reader, fan, or scholar that I have taken an abundance of liberties, not only with Carroll’s story and characters, but also with the societal rules and norms of Victorian England. I hope you’ll forgive any inaccuracies, or even chalk them up to creative license if you’re feeling generous, and I sincerely hope that the spirit of Lewis Carroll will find more amusement than offense in my attempts to expand on his crazy, kooky, quirky world.

It is Wonderland, after all.



1. Martin Gardner, ed., introduction and notes to The Annotated Alice: The Definitive Edition, by Lewis Carroll (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1999).





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I’D LIKE TO START by expressing my appreciation for Gregory Maguire, whose fantastic novels Wicked and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister served as the inspiration behind this book. Years ago, I was out to lunch with my agenting team, discussing fairy tales and villains, when I told them, “I wish that Gregory Maguire would write the origin story for the Queen of Hearts.” To which my foreign rights agent, Cheryl Pientka, looked at me and said, “Marissa, why don’t you write it?” So I also owe a great amount of thanks to Cheryl for helping me see the obvious, along with the amazing Jill Grinberg and the whole gang at Jill Grinberg Literary Management for their constant encouragement, wisdom, and enthusiasm.

I am enormously grateful to Jean Feiwel, Liz Szabla, and the many, many, many dedicated and talented people at Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, for having faith in me and for taking such pride in the books you publish. It’s been an enormous joy for me to work with you all.

A huge thanks to Lewis Carroll, who, one hundred and fifty years ago, gave us some of the most memorable characters in all of literature. I don’t know if I’ve done your world justice, but I have done my best.

Thank you to my husband, Jesse, our beautiful girls, Sloane and Delaney, and all my friends and family, who fill my world with love, wonder, and Cheshire-like smiles.

And finally, I have to thank my mom, who sparked my interest in Alice early on with her Queen of Hearts Halloween costume, Alice in Wonderland Christmas tree ornaments, and collection of Alice figurines, music boxes, and more. This book is for you.





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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marissa Meyer’s first book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder, debuted on the New York Times bestseller list. Marissa lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and their three cats. You can sign up for email updates here.