Dear Fran,

I'm grateful to you for referring my case to AL in Belgium.  The site she commended to my attention, vlbrazil.wordpress.com, is rich in the sort of information I'll need to finish my daunting epic.  According to the latest version of the plot outline, I'll have to learn a lot about the Brazilian rubber trade circa 1850, which evidently evolved into an industry that horrendously exploited the indigenous people.

When I have several key questions in hand for AL, I'll ask you for her cyberspace coordinates.  Thanks again!

Best wishes, James M