The Angel of Losses Read online

  The Barnard College English Department and Mary Gordon gave me the education in literature and fiction writing that prepared me to write this book. Donna Heiland introduced me to the gothic novels that inspired this one—including Matthew Lewis’s The Monk, Marjorie’s original research subject, which is quoted on page 264—and taught me how to understand them. I might never have attempted to write a novel if Sheri Holman hadn’t told me to do it. She has been an endless source of counsel and encouragement in the years since. Linda Lee McDonald was my first teacher, and I revisit her lessons constantly as I write. Many thanks to my friends Adia Wright and Regan Sommer McCoy for the advice and moral support, and to Caitlin Campbell for reading an early draft.

  I’m thrilled to finally thank my family in print. My parents, Paula Weiss and Chuck Feldman, and my grandmother Harriet Feldman have always believed that writing is a worthy goal and have done everything they could to help me pursue it. Thank you for being just as excited as I am about this book. Thank you to my sister, Michelle, for reading my work over the years and to my brother, Ben, for listening; to Sherill and Stuart Treitel for giving me time to write; and to Ramona for allowing me to understand Holly, and for occasionally napping.

  Finally, to my husband, Jonathan Treitel: Thank you for reading thousands of pages; for always knowing when to refine and when to expand; for helping me dedicate my time to this project; and for never wavering in his confidence in me.

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  THE ANGEL OF LOSSES. Copyright © 2014 by Stephanie Feldman. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  FIRST EDITION

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

  ISBN 978-0-06-222891-8

  EPUB Edition JULY 2014 ISBN 9780062228932

  14 15 16 17 18 OV/RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  About the Publisher

  Australia

  HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

  Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street

  Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

  http://www.harpercollins.com.au

  Canada

  HarperCollins Canada

  2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor

  Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada

  http://www.harpercollins.ca

  New Zealand

  HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand

  Unit D, 63 Apollo Drive

  Rosedale 0632

  Auckland, New Zealand

  http://www.harpercollins.co.nz

  United Kingdom

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

  77-85 Fulham Palace Road

  London, W6 8JB, UK

  http://www.harpercollins.co.uk

  United States

  HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

  195 Broadway

  New York, NY 10007

  http://www.harpercollins.com