A revealing picture of southern character as seen in a minister's recollections of his congregations

Originally published: New York: Doubleday, a division of Random House, 2007.

Join Belinda Jeffery for A Year of Sundays as she shares the recipes, musings and memories that inspire her cooking. A collection of Belinda’s much-adored and anticipated Sunday morning Instagram posts accompanied by beautiful recipes, A Year of Sundays is as much a conversation with a friend as it is a cookbook. Follow Belinda’s gentle guidance through recipes gathered from her cooking school on the Far North Coast of New South Wales, to those crafted from the harvests of local producers and her own garden, and others embellished with the imprint of personal memories. Cooking from the heart to relish in the beauty of just-picked produce or to simply indulge a craving, Belinda imparts her recipes with both encouragement and genuine joy. From her reassuring instruction in the art of pastry and baking to her relaxed approach to everyday dishes made from the freshest ingredients, A Year of Sundays is a cookbook for all occasions, all kitchens and all cooks. ‘Delicious, seasonal recipes for the home cook accompanied by [Belinda's] warm commentary on food and life.’ Good Weekend

Intimate Friends & Brilliant Minds from Bygone New York On Sunday evenings from 1850 to 1871, the poets Alice and Phoebe Cary host New Yorks choicest, most cosmopolitan literary salon--the first American bluestocking of its kind. The character-driven plot follows the lives of the energetic sisters in their rise to success. It is a portrait of intellectual, independent women, i.e. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mary Louise Booth, Fanny Fern and others, who challenge laws and mindsets, breaking the glass ceiling of their day. Their intimate story parallels the historic deeds and events involving not only the women, but their extraordinary group of close men friends, including Horace Greeley, P.T. Barnum, Bayard Taylor, and John Greenleaf Whittier. Horace Greeley called Phoebe the wittiest woman in America, and Edgar Allan Poe described Alices poem, Pictures of Memory, one of the most musically perfect lyrics in the English language. Before, during, and after the Civil War, abolition, suffrage, religion, politics, and social reform are heated issues. There is adventure, discovery, and financial chaos. In the ambiance of Alice and Phoebes cozy home on 20th Street, philosophy, politics, and literature mingle with fortune, rank, and wit. America comes into its own in literature and New York takes on world prominence.