One special feature of this novel is that it contains a variety of 18th century recipes that were researched and transcribed by Martine. Sounds delicious, no?
“That’s how it is for us servants. No one pays you much heed;
mostly you're invisible as furniture. Yet you overhear a conversation
here, and add a little gossip there. Then you find something, something
you should not have found.”Irrepressible Biddy Leigh,
under-cook at forbidding Mawton Hall, only wants to marry her childhood
sweetheart and set up her own tavern. But when her elderly master
marries young Lady Carinna, Biddy is unwittingly swept up in a world of
scheming, secrets, and lies. Forced to accompany her new mistress to
Italy, she documents her adventures and culinary discoveries in an old
household book of recipes, The Cook’s Jewel. Biddy grows intrigued by her fellow travelers, but her secretive and unconventional mistress is the most intriguing of all.In London, Biddy finds herself attracted to her mistress’s younger brother. In France, she discovers her mistress’s dark secret. At last in Italy, Biddy becomes embroiled in a murderous conspiracy, knowing the secrets she holds could be a key to a better life, or her downfall.
Inspired by eighteenth-century household books of recipes and set at the time of the invention of the first restaurants, An Appetite for Violets is a literary feast for lovers of historical fiction. Martine Bailey's novel opens a window into the fascinating lives of servants, while also delivering a suspenseful tale of obsession and betrayal.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This novel sounds captivating and fascinating for the story, the very interesting characters and the locales which interest me greatly as well as the era. Thanks for this great feature and giveaway. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDelete