Also by Karen Quinn
Wife in the Fast Lane
The Ivy Chronicles
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2008 by Karen Quinn
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Touchstone Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
TOUCHSTONE and colophon are registered trademarks
of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Quinn, Karen.
Holly would dream/by Karen Quinn.
p. cm.
“A Touchstone Book.”
1. Hepburn, Audrey, 1929–1993—Fiction. 2. Fashion design—Museums—Fiction. 3. New York (N.Y.)—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3617.U575 H65 2008
813'.6—dc22 2007042717
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-8395-0
ISBN-10: 1-4165-8395-5
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To Mark, Schuyler, Sam, Mom, Dad, Michael, and
Don—the seven wonders of my world
Acknowledgments
IF I COULD THANK every one of my readers and booksellers here by name, I would. Your support is such a gift. Please contact me anytime through my website—www.karen quinn.net or at www.myspace.com/authorkarenquinn. I am the author who always writes back.
I am grateful to my agent, Robin Straus, who has been an amazing champion from the beginning, along with my international agent, Sarah Nundy at Andrew Nurnberg Associates. Special thanks to my wonderful editors, Trish Todd, Susanne Baboneau, and Kate Lyall-Grant, and future editorial star Libby Vernon. I am so lucky to work with you.
To my husband, Mark Quinn, thank you for supporting my writing habit and not making me get a real job. Kisses and hugs to my teenagers, Schuyler and Sam Quinn, even though you no longer want to be seen with me.
To Regena Thomashauer, the inner circle, the Palace staff, and all the goddesses at Mama Gena’s School of Womanly Arts for their encouragement, inspiration, and sisterhood.
Thank you to my early readers for your brilliant notes and boundless enthusiasm: Shari Nedler (Mom—who willingly read the novel seven times), Kathleen Stowers (whose generosity knows no bounds), Kathleen Smith (who also provided invaluable counsel on ball gown construction), Judith Levy, Brooke Stachyra, Tatiana Boncompagni, Stan Zimmerman, Jim Berg, and George Wilman.
Special gratitude to Dr. Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, for your expertise and willingness to teach me just enough to be dangerous. Let the record reflect that the shenanigans that happen at the fictitious museum in Holly Would Dream would never take place at FIT.
Thank you to the crew and passengers I met on the Silver Whisper, the Crystal Symphony, and the Emerald Princess. You provided me with more inspiration than you’ll ever know. A quick disclaimer: Captains on cruise ships do not have romantic liaisons with passengers (I’m told it’s against the rules), and every cruise ship has a working morgue on board in the unlikely event that one is needed.
Grazie to Vivian Barsanti from the Hassler Hotel in Roma for showing me your sumptuous suites and for sharing stories about Audrey Hepburn’s stay there while making Roman Holiday. And to the staff of Il Palazzetto, I will never forget the nights spent at your lovely terrace bar overlooking the Spanish Steps. Grazie for the hospitality.
Thank you to Dr. Jonathan Goldenthal.
To Tiffany Cammarano, for one of the funniest bits that made it into this novel. To Julie Nelson, for her resplendent Santorini opera debut. To She She Walker, who, in the spirit of the great courtesan Cora Pearl, served herself for dessert and gave Holly the perfect way to demonstrate her own newfound cheek.
The spark for this book came from my love of romantic comedies of the 1950s—Roman Holiday, Sabrina, An Affair to Remember, just to name a few. There are so many stars of that time who served as muses for this novel: Cary Grant; Deborah Kerr; Doris Day; Grace Kelly; Gregory Peck; and of course the lovely, talented, and graceful Audrey Hepburn. I would like to recognize the following writers and directors for making these classics that brought joy to so many people, including myself: Claude Anet, George Axelrod, Philip Barry, Marc Behm, George Bradshaw, Truman Capote, T.E.B. Clarke, Mildred Cram, George Cukor, Delmer Daves, I.A.L. Diamond, John Dighton, David Dodge, Stanley Donen, Julien Duvivier, Blake Edwards, Leonard Gershe, John Michael Hayes, Alfred Hitchcock, Ian McLellan Hunter, Henri Jeanson, Harry Kurnitz, Ernest Lehman, Alan Jay Lerner, Delbert Mann, Leo McCarey, Nate Monaster, Richard Quine, Stanley Shapiro, George Bernard Shaw, Donald Ogden Stewart, Peter Stone, Samuel A. Taylor, Dalton Trumbo, Billy Wilder, and William Wyler.
And finally, I am grateful to my friends and family who have extended a hand as I’ve journeyed down this most extraordinary writing path: Amy Aho; Theresa Attwell; Carol Becker; Anna Bidwell; Beth Blair; Meris Blumstein; Scott Bond; Ellen Bregman; Candice Broom; George and Betty Buckley; Marcia Burch; Athena Burke; Stuart Calderwood; Nichole Cannon; Claire Chasnoff; Jane Cleland; Jennifer Cohen; Claire Cook; Stacey Creamer; Laura Cunningham; Katherine Cusset; Robin Daas; Charlene Dupray; Randy Dwenger; Beverly Erskin; Amanda Filipacchi; Judy Finnigan; Kathleen Frazier; Danielle Friedman; Robyn Spizman Friedman; Bonnie Fuller; Lorenza Galella; Emily Giffin; Victoria Goldman; Ken Gomez; Phyllis Goodman; Heather Graham; Stacey Green; Shelly Griffin; Richard Hine; Ron Hogan; Scottie Iverson; Tracey Jackson; Benjamin Jones; Caimin Jones; Judith Kahn; Jill Kargman; Pam Keogh;
