Author's Notes - The Alchemist’s Snare by A.J. Hall

While Gondal, Angria and Gaaldine are creations of the Bronte children, this particular version of these countries owes rather more to the Marlows’ reinvention of Gondal and Angria in Antonia Forest’s Peter’s Room.

Details with respect to the Shabtai Zvi affair are here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbatai_Zevi

The genesis of this idea was composed during a thunderstorm in Hvar Town, Croatia, which we waited out in a restaurant. Hence rather a lot of pathetic fallacy. The wine in the story, for the avoidance of doubt, comes from the murky recesses of the author’s imagination and the wine we were drinking in the restaurant was pretty damn good.