First published 2014
Kezia Marchant marries Tom Brissenden in July 1914, just one month before Britain declares war on Germany. Tom's sister Thea gives the newlyweds a household management book as a wedding gift, her subtle commentary on what she sees as Kezia's conventional future. When Tom enlists to serve his country and Thea reluctantly joins the war effort, Kezia finds herself alone, managing the family farm and struggling to maintain her structured world as it threatens to collapse around her. Tom writes letters from the trenches filled with carefully crafted stories meant to comfort both himself and his wife. Kezia responds with detailed descriptions of elaborate meals she prepares only in her imagination. These fictional feasts become so vivid that even Tom's fellow soldiers find comfort in her invented culinary world. But as the war drags on and reality intrudes, both Tom and Kezia must confront whether their protective stories can shield them from the harsh truths of conflict and loss.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Britain, Germany
Period: 1914, World War I
319 pages · Hardcover · HarperCollins
Content warnings: war