Acknowledgements
Certain people and institutions have been invaluable in helping bring this book to fruition. I am grateful to the University of Western Australia in supporting my work as an Honorary Research Fellow and for the access it has given me to scholarly journals and archival materials. I also thank my publisher, Brill, for their warm interest in my project and particularly my editor Christa Stevens for her kind encouragement, unfailing attention to detail, and astute advice. Sincere thanks are due, too, to Carina van den Hoven, who meticulously edited the final proofs.
I am indebted to the resources of libraries in Australia, England and France and I thank their staff: the Reid Library of the University of Western Australia; the Bodleian Library, Taylorian Library and Maison Française in Oxford; the British Library in London; the Bibliothèque Patrimoniale Roman Gary and Bibliothèque Louis Nucéra in Nice; and the Service du Patrimoine in Menton. Bath historian William Chislett generously forwarded me his newspaper articles and research relating to the death of Alice Williamson; Lauren Simpson was unstinting in her useful suggestions early on in my research; and Geneviève Chesnau of the Bibliothèque du Chevalier de Cessole, Nice, kindly arranged for me to view its volume of Marie Bashkirtseff’s original Journal.
Various people and professional bodies ably facilitated the visual presentation of my work: Emmanuelle Terrel of the Musée des Beaux-Arts Jules Chéret, Nice; Anne-Marie Mente of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University; Stephanie Tallering of ARSNY, New York; Rachel Kett of V & A Images, Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Chamisa Redmond of the Library of Congress, Washington; Siân Philips of Bridgman Art Library in London; Neil Parkinson of the Royal College of Art, London; Marie-Claude Saia of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; and Pete Woronkowicz of DACS, London. The Office de Tourisme of Hyères, the Alexander Turnbull Library, New Zealand, the National Portrait Gallery, London, and Alamy Film and Photograph Library in Milton, England, were additionally indispensable in providing me with high quality images.
My family has loyally supported me throughout. My sons Simon, Julian, and Ivan willingly helped with visual materials, the Riviera map, and the bibliography. My husband Charles assisted with proofreading and formatting beyond the call of duty and was ever ready with loving support and critical advice. Our frequent trips to the French Riviera have been inspirational in the preparation of this book.