The English American (29 page)

It is my privilege to thank my agent, Jennifer Joel at ICM, for her unwavering faith and smart, solid advice at all times. My brilliant and sensitive editor Marysue Rucci, for knowing exactly how to get me to make it better. David Rosenthal, Virginia Smith, Loretta Denner, Amy Ryan, Tina Peckham, Katie Sigelman, Victoria Meyer, Rebecca J. Davis, Leah Wasielewski, Catherine Casalino, and the entire team at Simon & Schuster.

For their encouragement, without which the early pages would still be in a box somewhere: Peter Buckman, Lynn Franklin, Marie-Louise Hogan, Melanie Rockcliffe, Katinka Neuhoff, Leslie Farrell, Clare Foster, Karen Hayes, and Jim Keenan.

Thanks also to Jane Byron, Suzanne Folke, Linnea Hasegawa, Anne Luttman-Johnson, Kate McAbe, Judith Schwartz, Liz Stein, Philip Thurston, Barb Valenti, Victoria Whelan, BritishGiftBaskets.com—and the Scottish connection, Alyson and Isobel Dewar, Jean McKirdy, and Rob and Brigid Whyte.

Thank you to the artist Simon Gales for the use of his name and his work.

Thank you to my friends Pam and Rysuke Hasegawa for giving me the keys to their house, so I could write uninterrupted.

I would also like to thank my birth parents for the precious gift of life.

And Mum and Dad, for showing me how to live it happily.

Alison Larkin was born in Washington, D.C., and spent her childhood in England and East and West Africa. After graduating from London University and the Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, she played classical roles on the British stage, then moved to America and became a stand-up comic. She appeared regularly at The Comic Strip in New York City, The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, and on
Late Night with Conan O’Brien
and
Comic Relief
. She also appeared on Broadway in the Royal National Theatre’s production of
Stanley.
Her unusually wide range of voices can be heard in dozens of cartoons and movies, from work by Robert Altman to
The Wonderful World of Oz
and
The Wonderpets
.

Combining stand-up comedy and theater, the author’s internationally acclaimed one-woman show,
The English American
, premiered at the Edinburgh Festival’s Assembly Rooms, headlined at the Soho Theatre as highlight of the London Comedy Festival, and has been seen in concert performance around the world.

Alison Larkin lives twenty-five miles outside New York City with her husband and two young children. Visit her website at www.alisonlarkin.com.