Straus and Starling Lawrence, who managed to make their obser-
vations incisive and encouraging at the same time. Stephen Roberts
pointed out various defects whilst appearing to do the opposite.
Geoffrey Neate's erudition and hospitality have been invaluable. I am
grateful to Jean Bruneau for his comments and assistance.

Special thanks to my agent, Gill Coleridge, who is responsible for
this book in ways both practical and intangible.

The following people answered questions and generally smoothed
the path of research. Jean-Paul Avice at the Bibliothèque Historique
de la Ville de Paris, Thierry Bodin, Alain Brunet (for practical help
with Chapter 13), Philip Collins, Ghislaine Courtet, Nicole Dinzart at
the Bibliothèque Municipale de Tours, Helen Dore, Pierre Enckell
(for words found only in Balzac), Jim Hiddleston, Gregory Hutchin-
son, Georg Kreisel, Anne Panchout, Helen and Raymond Poggenburg
(for books and lodging), Edward Preston, Everard Robinson (for an
equivalent of the Château de Saché), Claire Tomalin and Jean Ziegler.

I am greatly indebted to the collections and expertise of the
following libraries and institutions. In France: the Bibliothèque
Nationale, the Bibliothèque de l'Institut (Fonds Spoelberch de
Lovenjoul), the Maison de Balzac at Passy, the Château de Saché, the
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours, the Museée de Ville-d'Avray, the
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Besanço, Archives de la Ville d'Orléans,
Archives de la Ville de Villeurbanne. In Britain: the Taylor Institution
Library, the Bodleian Library, the National Portrait Gallery and the
Library Automation Service of Oxford University. In the United
States: the W. T. Bandy Center for Baudelaire Studies at Vanderbilt
University. Also the American and British Societies for Psychical
Research.

Balzac would have been dedicated to Margaret, but she made so
many improvements to it and was so irresistibly honest from the very
beginning that she was practically its co-author.

G. M. R.

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