NPR

On 'The Kitchen Front,' 4 Women Cook Their Way To Victory

In Jennifer Ryan's new novel, set in England in 1942, four women from different backgrounds compete in a cooking contest with a possibly life-changing prize: The chance to cohost a BBC cooking show.
Source: Ballantine Books

War is hell. But it's also pretty crummy on the homefront — especially if you're a woman with few options (read, a woman) in World War II-era England. But what if you could cook your way to a better life?

That's the basic premise of , the third novel from Jennifer Ryan, and the third to be set in, the story concerns itself with the struggles and resilience of village women, but this time around, the action revolves around a cooking competition.

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