Martine Bailey may be a first-time novelist, but she is more than qualified to write a book like AN APPETITE FOR VIOLETS. An award-winning cook who has published recipes in Gourmet, Good Housekeeping and other publications, Bailey understands and respects the culinary history of both England and the European continent, both of which play key roles in her debut novel, a historical mystery that will appeal as much to foodies as it does to armchair sleuths.

After a brief and disquieting opening scene, AN APPETITE FOR VIOLETS opens in late 1772, in a great manor house in England, where under-cook Biddy Leigh is biding her time while waiting for her sweetheart, Jem, to declare his intentions publicly so that the two of them can get married. As soon as he does so, though, Biddy will be out of a job, since no one who is married or even betrothed can work as a domestic servant in the household of Sir Geoffrey.

"Readers who come to the novel looking for suspense or well-realized historical details will come away satisfied, as will those who read primarily for the mouthwatering descriptions of lavish feasts or for the compelling transformation of Bailey's truly winning heroine."

Everything begins to change for Biddy, however, when Sir Geoffrey's extremely recent --- and extremely young --- bride, Carinna, appears at Mawton Hall, accompanied only by her lady's maid and her lap dog. Carinna, who is wildly temperamental and widely distrusted by the household staff, develops an interest in Biddy, who appears to want to please her. And when Carinna makes the seemingly impulsive and certainly unexpected decision to travel without her new husband to Italy, she selects Biddy as one of the few servants to attend to her on the journey.

Citing her desire to maintain access to English food and not be forced to consume the too-exotic cuisines of France and Italy, Carinna insists on Biddy's cooperation, much to the young cook's dismay at the prospect of being separated from her fiancé. As the journey progresses and Biddy learns more about her mistress's secrets, Biddy starts wondering if Carinna has a secret agenda planned for her. Soon, however, faced with new tastes and sights of which she had never dreamed, Biddy begins to see the trip not merely as an obligation to her mistress but as an opportunity for herself to seek a new kind of future in a new kind of world.

In an afterword, Bailey mentions that the inspiration for AN APPETITE FOR VIOLETS was the discovery of an 18th-century book of recipes found in an English manor house much like Mawton Hall. In fact, each of the chapters from Biddy's point of view opens with a recipe, which offers a unique glimpse for modern readers (especially home cooks) into the flavors of centuries ago. Most of these recipes would be nearly impossible to follow today, but that doesn't make them any less fruitful for the imagination.

Like a good (if ambitious) recipe, AN APPETITE FOR VIOLETS offers up many different ingredients. At times, it's unclear if or how some of the characters and plots Bailey introduces will be integrated into the story in its entirety, but like any successful recipe, the complex flavors and elements combine into a delicious whole. Readers who come to the novel looking for suspense or well-realized historical details will come away satisfied, as will those who read primarily for the mouthwatering descriptions of lavish feasts or for the compelling transformation of Bailey's truly winning heroine.