Over one hundred years after its first publication, like a phoenix The Story of Avis regains a life. Many of us have waited a decade for this novel to become easily available. I personally am delighted at the opportunity to help place it in your hands. But many others deserve thanks for help and support along the way. As initiators of the project my thanks go to Sally Mitchell for urging that Avis be next and to Leslie Mitchner for listening, reading, and more than space permits. I also extend hearty thanks to Joanne Dobson, Sarah Elbert, Judith Fetterley, Annette Kolodny, Marjorie Pryse, and Elaine Showalter for their confidence in me. For permission to use "Female Life Studies" as the cover, I thank Robert Arthur Harman of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. I gratefully acknowledge the help of Professor Frank Paul Bowman, University of Pennsylvania, for writing to Professor Jacques Seebacher, Universit de Paris, who located the lines from Victor Hugo's "Regret," in the epigraph to Chapter 18. To John D. Vairo, Campus Executive Officer, and Edward S. J. Tomezsko, Director of Academic Affairs, at the Delaware County Campus of the Pennsylvania State University, go special thanks for providing the many supports that facilitate the functioning of teacher-scholars on a two-year campus. Sara Lou Whildin and Susan Ware, and their staff at Delaware County Campus Library, responded eagerly to numerous requests for reference support, as have Charles W. Mann, Jr., and Linda K. Rambler at Pattee Library, University Park. And David Kresh, Reference Specialist at the Library of Congress, solved several esoteric puzzles. The Liberal Arts College Fund for Research has made possible professional typing by Jean Patrick, whose cheer, interest, and above all expertise I appreciate. Finally I thank all generations of my very tolerant family for permitting me to get on with my work by becoming effectively self-dependent. |
