num_pages: 336
description: In this captivating dual narrative novel a modern-day woman finds inspiration in hidden notes left by her homes previous owner a quintessential 1950s housewife. As she discovers remarkable parallels between this womans life and her own it causes her to question the foundation of her own relationship with her husbandand what it means to be a wife fighting for her place in a patriarchal society.When Alice Hale leaves a career in publicity to become a writer and follows her husband to the New York suburbs she is unaccustomed to filling her days alone in a big empty house. But when she finds a vintage cookbook buried in a box in the old homes basement she becomes captivated by the cookbooks previous owner1950s housewife Nellie Murdoch. As Alice cooks her way through the past she realizes that within the cookbooks pages Nellie left clues about her lifeincluding a mysterious series of unsent letters penned to her mother.Soon Alice learns that while baked Alaska and meatloaf five ways may seem harmless Nellies secrets may have been anything but. When Alice uncovers a more sinistereven dangerousside to Nellies marriage and has become increasingly dissatisfied with the mounting pressures in her own relationship she begins to take control of her life and protect herself with a few secrets of her own.
language: English
title: Recipe for a Perfect Wife
publisher: Dutton