The House at the End of Hope Street Read online

  The Colors of Alba’s World

  Bright Green—Truth and Strength

  Royal Blue—Sorrow

  Sky Blue—Kindness and Friendship

  Silver—Hope

  Bright Red—Lust

  Violet—Joy

  Magenta—Desire

  Puce—Passion

  Rich Orange—Insight

  Bright Yellow—Inspiration, youth and the breath of trees

  White—Belief

  Dark Red—Obsession

  Gold—the color of ghost’s words and the color of contentment

  Scarlet—Dedication

  Deep Purple—Wisdom

  Black—Complaints and Arguments and Lies

  Dirt Gray—Disgust

  Dark Brown—Boredom

  Fire—Zoë’s words when she talks about love

  Radioactive Egg Yolks—Ridiculous Optimism

  *Another Englishwoman, Elizabeth Blackwell, was the first woman to qualify as a doctor in the United States, in 1849. The two met in London in 1859.

  *In 1918 women over thirty were given the vote. In 1928, all women eighteen and older could vote.

  *Daphne was a cousin of the Llewelyn Davies boys, who inspired J. M. Barrie’s 1904 play Peter Pan. Du Maurier’s other brilliant works of literature include Jamaica Inn, Frenchman’s Creek and My Cousin Rachel.

  *These included smashing windows and assaulting police officers. Pankhurst, her daughters and other members of the Women’s Social & Political Union were frequently put in prison, where they staged hunger strikes to protest the dreadful conditions.

  *A celebrated group of New York City writers, critics, actors, and wits, including Harpo Marx, Art Samuels and Charles MacArthur. They met for lunches at the Algonquin Hotel from 1919 to 1929.

  *As Alba mentioned, Christie’s estate places her third in the list of best-selling books of all time, after Shakespeare and the Bible.

  *Virginia Woolf wrote the novel Orlando in tribute to Vita, whose son described it as “the longest and most charming love-letter in literature.”

  *Of course, there is no evidence to suggest that Nightingale was, as Peggy told Alba, “a little too fond of sailors.” That was the author’s little joke.