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A Novel
by Olivia Ford
A huge-hearted, redemptive coming-of-old-age tale, a love story, and an ode to good food.
Nothing could be more out of character, but after fifty-nine years of marriage, as her husband Bernard's health declines, and her friends' lives become focused on their grandchildren—which Jenny never had—Jenny decides she wants a little something for herself. So she secretly applies to be a contestant on the prime-time TV show Britain Bakes.
Whisked into an unfamiliar world of cameras and timed challenges, Jenny delights in a new-found independence. But that independence, and the stress of the competition, starts to unearth memories buried decades ago. Chocolate teacakes remind her of a furtive errand involving a wedding ring; sugared doughnuts call up a stranger's kind act; a simple cottage loaf brings back the moment her life changed forever.
With her baking star rising, Jenny struggles to keep a lid on that first secret—a long-concealed deceit that threatens to shatter the very foundations of her marriage. It's the only time in six decades that she's kept something from Bernard. By putting herself in the limelight, has Jenny created a recipe for disaster?
"Ford's writing is sentimental without being saccharine, and the scenes from Jenny's youth are, much like Jenny's pastry, deliciously layered... For anyone who's ever wished they could read, instead of watch, reality TV." —Kirkus Reviews
"A warm, sincere and heartfelt tale with relatable characters." —Library Journal
"Ford... entertains readers with backstage shenanigans while also focusing on the depth and intimacy that come from a lifetime of knowing someone." —The Washington Post
"This novel is perfectly baked, utterly delicious, and completely moreish. Mrs. Quinn is destined to become the nation's favourite." —Clare Pooley, New York Times bestselling author of Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting
"Soul-enriching….From its enticing setting to its perfect ending, Mrs. Quinn's Rise To Fame is absolutely marvelous. Like a great dessert, you'll wish you could come back for more." —J. Ryan Stradal, New York Times bestselling author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest
This information about Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Olivia Ford has spent a decade in entertainment television, most recently as a story producer. Ford is a graduate of the Faber Academy, where she wrote the beginnings of Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame, which was long-listed for the 2021 Women's Prize Trust's Discoveries Prize. Raised in Lincolnshire, she now lives in London.
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