"A lovely book." raved Anne Rivers Siddons about Mina,
Jonatha Ceely's luminous debut novel.
"Suspenseful...evocative...meticulously researched,"
praised the" Boston Globe." Now Ceely returns to the
tumultuous mid-nineteenth- century landscape and the world of an
unforgettable Irish girl named Mina Pigot. Appealing to mind,
sense, and emotion, Bread and Dreams is a sumptuous novel of love
and food, loss, hunger, and hope. In 1848, a time when sail was
giving way to the swift power of steam, Mina boards the sailing
ship "Victoria," headed for a new life in America.
Orphaned and alone, under the protection of her friend Mr. Serle,
Mina is, like the "Victoria," at the mercy of the winds
of fate. But what awaits both Mina and her protector in New York is
a world rich with opportunity and danger. As Mr. Serle, a master
chef, finds work in a bustling hotel, Mina tries the life of a
salesgirl and then joins the downstairs kitchen of a wealthy
family, where she soon proves her exquisite touch with food. But
mysteries swirl all around the Westervelt home, and soon they
engulf Mina too. As she tries to navigate the shoals and eddies of
hidden affairs and powerful secrets, and as her feelings for the
mysterious Mr. Serle subtly begin to shift, a remarkable series of
events begins to unfold. For Mina, an extraordinary adventure
begins, one that will take her far away from New York--and bring a
sudden, surprising change of heart...and an unexpected gift of love
and responsibility. From the gaslit streets of old New York to the
cargo-crowded waterways of the Erie Canal, from one man fighting a
personal battle of faith, duty, and desire to another scarred in
body and soul by was, Bread andDreams is filled with marvelously
drawn characters and vivid images. And in the keenly observant,
steadfast Mina Pigot we are given a narrator to treasure--and a
brilliant guide into the heart and soul of America. PRAISE FOR
JONATHA CEELY'S FIRST NOVEL MINA "Jon
