Go Ask Fannie Farmer

'A remarkably lucid and authoritative novelist' John Irving 'Accomplished, assured . . . A richly rewarding read' The Sunday Times 'A first-rate storyteller, funny and compassionate' Woman & Home ****** Murray Blaire had some serious matters to discuss this weekend, and he wanted things to run smoothly. But harmony, that Artful Dodger in so many families, had its way of eluding his family as well. . . Though the adult Blaire siblings have agreed to keep things calm and amiable on a trip to stay with their elderly father, each arrives, in true Blaire style, with a secret agenda. But plans are derailed when Lizzie, the youngest, turns up late with a burnt hand, impending criminal charges, and a damp family cookbook: Fannie Farmer's Boston Cooking School. The now ruined cookbook is the last vestige of a more idyllic time, when there were four siblings, not three, a public family reputation to uphold, and a mother whose handwritten notes in the margins of the recipes are their last link to her after the accident years ago. But secrets will always out, especially amongst family: and this weekend, the Blaire siblings will learn that there is more to their mother's story than they could have anticipated... Told in three parts, roving between then and now, Go Ask Fannie Farmer tells of the life and death of Lillian Blaire, the over-bearing, bickering, but loving children who look for ways to connect with one another in her absence, and the inner lives we hide from our families. 'Irresistible' Prima 'Hyde's latest novel will delight readers' Booklist 'An engaging family saga, reminiscent of Anne Tyler or Anita Shreve' Daily Mail 'Hyde creates a family we can all relate to . . . and does so with great humour' Woman