This is author Jennifer Ryan's third novel and while it's only the second one of hers that I've read, I enjoyed it just as much. One of the things that had really appealed to me back when I read Ryan's debut The Chilbury Ladies' Club a few years back was the way she was able to paint a vivid picture of the home front in England during WWII. This was a time period where all able-bodied men were expected to enlist and help with the war effort at the front lines, leaving behind mostly women and children (and men who had gotten out of being drafted) to take care of things at home. With her newest novel, Ryan once again captures the sentiment of the time, through the story of 4 women who join a wartime cooking contest in the hopes of landing a prime spot as co-host of a popular BBC radio program. Each woman has her own reasons and motivations for joining the contest. Audrey, a widow whose beloved husband was killed serving his country and now, laden with debt and 3 young sons to take care of, decides that the only way to save the dilapidated house she lives in and therefore keep a roof over her family's head is to win the contest so that she can get a steady, well-paying job. Gwendoline – Audrey's estranged sister and also the wife of the wealthiest man in the village – enters the contest expecting a sure-fire win that will further cement her status in society, though deep down, she is motivated by a profound lack of self-worth spurred by her violent husband Sir Strickland's disdain and loathing. Nell is an orphan turned kitchen maid who yearns for freedom from life-long servitude in the Strickland household and sees the contest as an opportunity to finally realize her dreams for a better life. And finally, Zelda Dupont is a trained chef displaced from London after the hotel she worked at is bombed – having experienced a lifetime of hardship and lost opportunities due to being a woman, she is determined to win the contest so she can return to London at the top of her game and give the men dominating the profession a run for their money.
Through a narrative that alternates between each of the four women's perspectives, we are given keen insight into not just how the war impacts each of their lives, but more importantly, how they persevere and overcome the challenges they're faced with in order to make the best of what they have. In reading the Author's Note at the end, it was fascinating to learn that parts of the story were actually inspired by real-life events – from the idea of contests (which were popular during that time period due the entertainment it provided and the ability to divert people's minds away from the horrors of the war), to food rationing and the need to pay close attention to ingredients being used, to the actual BBC radio program entitled The Kitchen Front that had been established to share recipes as well as cooking tips and techniques during the war. I was impressed by the amount of research that went into the story as well as the transportive nature of the writing. Most of all though, I love the food-themed elements incorporated throughout the story, especially the recipes and the resourcefulness of the women who had to find ways to adapt the meals they cooked out of necessity during the war. Ryan writes in her author's note that many of the recipes she incorporated into the story were from the National Archives as well as from people she interviewed who had lived through those times. It humbled me to think about how much we take for granted nowadays on food-related matters when back then, it was such a battle just to get food onto the table. This is one of the aspects I've always loved about historical fiction — its ability to make history more relatable to those of us who never experienced it.
Having read two of Ryan's books, both of which have been inspiring as well as uplifting, I look forward to reading more of her works, including her sophomore novel, published in 2019, that I was not able to get to at the time. If you get the chance to pick up this newest one up, I definitely highly recommend it!
Received ARC from Ballantine Books via NetGalley
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