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What’s Real?<br />
The Indian Rebellion (sometimes called the Great Mutiny) of 1857 was a real event, as is the<br />
tragedy of Cawnpore, although the unfortunate Sloane family is a figment of my imagination, as are all<br />
the members of the Byculla Club. The Club itself was quite real, as is the suicide tree, a marvelous<br />
tropical plant which some still consider the perfect murder weapon. Nonetheless, the crimes<br />
described within City of Bells are entirely fictional, as is the Everlee-Weaver family and Miss<br />
Hoffman’s school for girls.<br />
I am beholding to Margaret MacMillian, author of Women of the Raj, for many of the details<br />
describing the sometimes terrifying, sometimes tedious lives of British women living in India in the<br />
middle of the nineteenth century. If this story has intrigued you, I urge you to pick up her excellent<br />
nonfiction book for further research. Thanks also to Shirley Butterworth and Second Star Publishing<br />
for their help with editing and cover design.<br />
Three of the names used in the novel are the names of real people. Leigh Ann Hoffman won the<br />
right to be a villain in a charity auction, and Pulkit Sang is a friend who dances at the same ballroom<br />
studio as I do. Henry Seal is the name of an old boyfriend who was (and is) a wonderful man and<br />
nothing like the self-satisfied character in the book. Thanks for loaning me your names, guys!
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