An Appetite for Violets

In a wonderfully rich detailed debut, Martine Bailey brings to life her lead character, Biddy with a fun moving culinary flavored romp that is exciting and enthralling.

Here you have a mix of themes that work surprisingly well together, The plunky heroine, the social and greedy nastiness of villains worthy of any gothic romance, an intriguing look at food at the time and a cast of characters for our lead to play wonderfully off of and with. There is a refreshing straight forward aspect in some things and a nice shading of grey in others. Bailey gives hte period a fresh but authentic eye that illuminates, amuses and shocks. No punches are pulled and yet there is a strong flavor of how much the author enjoys writing about her characters and their stories throughout.

the novel begins in 1772, when Biddy Leigh the 22 year old under cook at Mawton Manor is all set to marry her sweetheart Jem. Cooking is her passion and her ambition is to open her own place and prepare the food she wants to make. All the changes when they get word that their elderly master has married a much younger Lady Carina, who shortly descends on the manor.

What follows is an adventure, as Lady Carina takes Biddy on a mad romp to Italy. Of course things are not as straightforward as they seem, and there are plots, and betrayals a plenty to keep this story interesting. The atmosphere, awareness of time and place in very well done but it is the estimable Biddy that steals the day. She manages to stay basically unflappable in spite of some serious and nefarious doings. She is a character that brings humor, courage and affection to the most unbelievable occurrences. A fun novel, with some mystery, and an ode to the passion for food. Each chapter opens with a recipe from the time period, they ate some mightily complicated dishes.

The opening scene from this novel really drew me in quickly, it was so creepy and I couldn't help but keep reading to see what happened to cause a scene such as this. Good fun, reminded me a bit of Moll Flanders.

ARC from NetGalley (less)

Love the story of Biddy, her life in the kitchen. Very enjoyable story. Can't wait to read more from this author.

Biddy Leigh is a young woman who works as an undercook at Mawton Hall for the elderly Lord Geoffrey and his young new wife, Lady Carinna. She is content with her life and dreams of marrying Jem one day and together opening up a tavern where she can indulge her passion for cooking her cherished family recipes. When Lady Carinna decides to travel to Italy, Biddy is obliged to accompany her, along with the bitter lady's maid, the shady steward, and a captured slave owned by her mistress.

The story is told through Biddy's point of view. This colorful cast of characters collide amid dangerous secrets, dark ambitions, and a touch of intriguing cultures and their cuisines. Not all is as it seems and the characters are ever evolving, and always surprising. The novels pages contain plenty of nice plot twists that kept me interested to the very end. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel! It's definitely a favourite of mine, appealing in every way.