15. Foundling
16. Going Maternal
17. Marlene and Hedda
18. Frost Sketches Flowers on the Windows
Part Four. 1859–1866
19. Men Who Turn to Stone
20. Young Widows with Infants
21. I Kill The Sensational Sebastian
22. Luzia The Clown and the Whirling Nowack Cousins
23. Tell Me the Story of How My Vati Could Fly
Part Five. Winter 1878–1879
24. A Quicksilver Murmur
25. In the Big Nursery
26. Of Being Alone and Untouched
27. The Mathematics of Loss. Of Desire
Part Six. Spring 1879
28. A Balance of Bees and Humans
29. The Old Women Set the Stage by Trusting Gossip
30. Driftwood Jesus
Part Seven. Summer 1879
31. August. And the Dresses of the St. Margaret Girls Billow
32. Lure of the Island
33. You Must Be Kind to Your Husband
34. A Frantic Summoning
35. I Know I’m Bossy
36. Our Own Hidden Wildness
Part Eight. Winter 1879–1880
37. Old Rifts Mend
38. Sabine and Lotte
39. To Feel Your Skin Despite the Layers of Our Habits
40. Their Own Patron Saint
42. Steadiness of a Thief
43. You Don’t Have a Brother
Part Nine. Spring 1880
44. Maria Ullrich Is Hungry for Colors
45. Schwarze Sonne
46. You Must Grip What You Cannot Bear to Lose
Acknowledgments
Also by Ursula Hegi
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE PATRON SAINT OF PREGNANT GIRLS. Copyright © 2020 by Ursula Hegi. All rights reserved. For information, address Flatiron Books, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.flatironbooks.com
Jacket design: LeeAnn Falciani
Jacket photograph of peacock © Luis Castaneda Inc./Getty Images; sky © MNPhoto/Shutterstock.com; texture © Raganarock/Shutterstock.com; stripes © Eky Studio/Shutterstock.com; tent © Dawn Harmer/Shutterstock.com; water © Andrey Polivanov/Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Hegi, Ursula, author.
Title: The patron saint of pregnant girls / Ursula Hegi.
Description: First edition. | New York: Flatiron Books, 2020.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019045244 | ISBN 9781250156822 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250156815 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Domestic fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3558.E4185 P38 2020 | DDC 813/.54—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019045244
eISBN 9781250156815
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First Edition: June 2020