The Real Deal

“Without the help of my authentic husband, Chandler Davis, this history of an imposter-spouse could never have existed.”

– Natalie Zemon Davis, The Return of Martin Guerre (1983)

To the Same

To the Same

(for Damien)

‘My favourite poem in this anthology

Is William Cowper’s To the Same.’ I wrote

At school. The English mistress pointed out

That this was no true title, but to me

Even after half a century

It shines out with the steadfastness of gold

From a dark bookcase. It is a title held

By all achievers in fidelity.

I do not write love poems, but if I did

I too would praise the continuity

Of love and not the onset. So a name

Would not be necessary, for I should

Of course mean you, who have survived with me,

And address all my sonnets to the same.

— Patricia Beer

Tend your own garden

“Finally, I must acknowledge my greatest debt: to Rolf Soellner, the man à la mode, with whom I have shared a garden of love and a garden of friendship. Gratitude, as Dr. Johnson says, is a fruit of great cultivation; may he meanwhile accept this modest blossom as a symbol of what I owe him.”

Elise Goodman, Rubens: The Garden of Love as Conversatie à la Mode (1992)

A Marriage Portrait

“My deepest gratitude, finally, is to Estelle Lingo, my companion in life and in the life of the mind. Her conversation, her example, her love and inspiration, lie behind every page of what follows. It is to her that I dedicate this book.”

Stuart Lingo, Federico Barocci: Allure and Devotion in Late Renaissance Painting (2008)

“Finally, my husband, Stuart Lingo, has been my companion on this journey in every possible sense. I dedicate this book to him, with love and no more words.”

Estelle Lingo, François Duquesnoy and the Greek Ideal (2007)

Them

“Finally, to my first readers: my agents, Georges and Anne Borchardt, who’ve stood by me steadfastly for three decades; my cherished friend of more than half a century, Joanna Rose; my eagle-eyed pals Jennifer Phillips, Marguerite Whitney, and Karen Marta; and my own beloved male trinity—Thaddeus Gray, Luke Gray, and the late Cleve Gray—whose affection and wisdom have helped me not only to grow as a writer, but to survive every day of my life.”

Francine du Plessix Gray, Them (2005)