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Acknowledgements This book has taken shape over a number of years, in several different settings, and without the support of many institutions and the contributions of a wide array of individuals it could not have been completed . The early development of this book was facilitated by a Fulbright Austrian-Hungarian Joint Research Grant and the Collegium Budapest. I would like to thank the Faculty of History at Cambridge University for letting me be part of their community for much of the 2008–09 academic year, as well as Jesus College and Hughes Hall, Cambridge where I received hospitality as well as material and moral support. In particular I must acknowledge Sarah Squire for helping me to come to Cambridge in the first place, and William O’Reilly and Derek Beales for their ideas and professional guidance. The participants in seminars and lectures at Cambridge and elsewhere, some of whose names I never learned, also challenged and redirected my thinking as the project progressed. The Jesuit Institute at Boston College, which for a year was where the actual business of writing took place, was a perfect environment for reflecting on all things Jesuit, and Father T. Frank Kennedy, S. J., was a thoughtful and supportive host. Special thanks to the ever-helpful staff of the Burns Library at Boston College. Brandon University graciously gave me resources and time as a visiting professor to complete the project. Among the other institutions that helped make this book possible have been Central European University , Pasts, Incorporated, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Library, the Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu, the library of the Eötvös Loránd University, and the libraries of Harvard, Brown and Yale Universities . Central European University Press, in the person of Krisztina x Narratives of Adversity Kós and her staff, has been a pleasure to work with, the sort of understanding editorial team that every writer hopes for. Many individuals have endured reading the entire text or portions thereof, and have corrected errors, suggested more felicitous ways of expressing ideas, and reacted more generally to the goals and approaches of this study. Thanks to László Kontler, Martyn Rady, Robert Evans, Jennifer Lowe, Matthew Herrell, Éva Sandner, Géza Pálffy, Emanuele Colombo, Father John W. Padberg, S. J., Charles Jelavich, Lynn Whidden, Frank Schaer and the anonymous reviewer of my manuscript after it was submitted to CEU Press. Bálint Bethlenfalvy skillfully prepared the bibliography. Frank Schaer and Etleva Lala caught more than a few errors and debatable transcriptions in the Latin, for which I am very grateful. And my students at Central European University through their curiosity and fresh view of the topic have contributed more than they may ever realize. Any errors of fact or interpretation are of course my own. P. S. Budapest, July 2011 ...

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