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    The Art of Baking Blind: A Novel
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    The Art of Baking Blind: A Novel
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    The Art of Baking Blind: A Novel
    Audiobook12 hours

    The Art of Baking Blind: A Novel

    Written by Sarah Vaughan

    Narrated by Julia Barrie

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    In 1966, Kathleen Eaden, cookbook writer and wife of a supermarket magnate, published The Art of Baking, her guide to nurturing a family by creating the most exquisite pastries, biscuits and cakes. Now, five amateur bakers are competing to become the New Mrs. Eaden.

    There's Jenny, facing an empty nest now that her family has flown; Claire, who has sacrificed her dreams for her daughter; Mike, trying to parent his two kids after his wife's death; Vicki, who has dropped everything to be at home with her baby boy; and Karen, perfect Karen, who knows what it's like to have nothing and is determined her facade shouldn't slip.

    As unlikely alliances are forged and secrets rise to the surface, making the choicest pastry seems the least of the contestants' problems. For they will learn—as Mrs. Eaden did before them—that while perfection is possible in the kitchen, it's very much harder in life, in Sarah Vaughan's The Art of Baking Blind.

    A Macmillan Audio production.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateMay 5, 2015
    ISBN9781427261625
    Unavailable
    The Art of Baking Blind: A Novel
    Author

    Sarah Vaughan

    Sarah Vaughan read English at Oxford and went on to become a journalist. After training at the Press Association, she spent eleven years at the Guardian as a news reporter and political correspondent before leaving to freelance and write fiction. Her first two novels, The Art of Baking Blind and The Farm at the Edge of the World, were followed by her first psychological thriller, Anatomy of a Scandal: a Sunday Times bestseller, and Richard & Judy pick of the decade, developed as a Netflix series starring Rupert Friend, Michelle Dockery and Sienna Miller. Her fourth novel, Little Disasters, a Waterstone’s thriller of the month, was published in 2020. Reputation is her fifth novel.

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    Reviews for The Art of Baking Blind

    4/5

    12 ratings12 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The story of five aspiring bakers to take over for a lady (Mrs. Eaden) who is stepping down after decades of writing on the topic of baking. (think Betty Crocker) The book is almost six stories in one as you get glimpses into the lives of the contestants and into Mrs. Eaden's background as to how she became this cooking superstar. One contestant is a man and his story is barely touched. It is not easy for any of the women as they have to make sacrifices along the way. The author is British and so some of the dialogue and recipes have an English flair. Not really my subject matter but I am sure others will enjoy this well written book.
    • 4/5
      This book is so charming! I have watched all of The Great British Bake Off and I needed more so I turned to fiction. This did not disappoint! It was inspired by the show and provides many of the same warm fuzzy feelings I got watching it. Some of the characters I cared less about than others, and I thought that it was a bit odd that the author chose to give different characters some of the same interests and characteristics, for example there were two characters - Karen and Frances - who were both sort of cold, bitchy mothers who have become distant from their families with their lack of emotional warmth. But overall, this is a really pleasant read, super quick and a nice reprieve from a lot of heavier stuff I'd been reading recently.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely delightful! I loved this ---following the lives of five people, plus the life of the person behind the baking contest. Going from situation to situation of each of the contestants, one at a time, was just plain fun to read. Having an English author brought out some particularly wonderful words that added a special "taste" to the book----you could feel them even if you didn't know exactly what they meant! I was particularly impressed with Vaughan's culinary descriptions---does Sarah Vaughan happen to be a baking winner all on her own?
    • 4/5
      The story takes place in England between five contestants who are competing in a baking competition to determine who will be the new Mrs. Eaden. Mrs. Eaden was famous during the 1960's for her well known cookbook written for the everyday person.The book is set up as a back-and-forth between the competition, set in the modern day, and Kathleen Eaden as she wrote "The Art of Baking" while struggling with repeated miscarriages in her effort to have a child. We learn about the everyday lives of the contestants. They are women who are also struggling with certain aspects of their lives. The other contestant is Mike, the only male, but who is also just getting over the death of his wife. This book is obviously intended for a female audience. However, I enjoyed reading about each contestant and the glimpses into Kathleen Eaden's life were interesting since she was known to these contestants as a sort of "wonder woman" when in actually, she was not.The book is lighthearted and an easy read, but it was enjoyable and worth recommending. I received a complimentary copy from Goodreads giveaway program in exchange for a review.
    • 4/5
      This novel was all about baking and the author went into a lot of detail about the various pies and cakes that the contestants in the contest had to make to be the new spokesperson for the Eaden market chain in England. There were five contestants and we learned their stories as well as the story of the original Kathleen Eaden from the 60s. Even though I am not a baker, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the detailed descriptions about went went into making good baked items. Even though there was only one official winner, they all learned more about life and themselves by being part of this competition. I think this this would be a great book for book clubs.
    • 5/5
      The Art of Baking Blind is the story of five amateur bakers who enter a competition to become the next Mrs Eadon. Kathleen Eadon was the wife of the owner of a posh chain of supermarkets and in the 1960s wrote her iconic recipe book, The Art of Baking. The five contestants each have something to prove by competing.The story takes the form of sections devoted to each of the categories in the competition, such as Cakes, Biscuits etc, with an extract from the book to start it off. Whilst the focus of the book is on the contestants, there are also short pieces telling something of Kathleen's life. I enjoyed it all immensely. The book is a complete pleasure to read, just light enough to be easy and undemanding but not so light that it's sugary or silly. A perfect balance really.With shades of The Great British Bake Off combined perhaps with the memory of the heyday of the great Marguerite Patton, this book is very current and will appeal not only to those, such as myself, who love to bake, but also anybody who enjoys well-written contemporary women's fiction. Right up my street!
    • 5/5
      Excellent! Masterful storytelling, vivid characters. Touching, relatable, beautiful, and delicious.
    • 4/5
      This is another entry in the popular fiction category of Different People Who Come Together Cooking and End Up Wiser, Happier (and eventually, Probably Heavier). A réchauffé, one might even say (i.e., a "warmed over" dish eaten of previously). Is this yet-another-one worth reading? Yes, I think it is.Five amateur bakers enter a “cook-off” contest to become “the New Mrs. Eaden,” named for the fictional woman who was the late author of the classic cookbook The Art of Baking and wife of the founder of a large chain of gourmet food shops. The winner will not only receive a large amount of money, but will contribute a monthly magazine column on cooking and be the face of Eaden’s new advertising campaign.The stories of the five finalists are interwoven with flashback chapters from Kathleen Eadon while she was writing her cookbook in the Sixties. The book is divided into categories as a cookbook might be, with each division focusing on the competition over that particular food group (e.g., breads, biscuits [cookies to Americans], etc.)All but one of the contestants (who happens to be the only male in the group) are obsessed with perfection, and all seem to be into baking to fill the voids in their lives. As we accompany them on their quest, we learn about their struggles with their home lives, their secrets, their dreams, and the way in which their search for perfection in baking accelerates in proportion to their perceptions of failure in their personal lives.Evaluation: The writing is quite well done, and what foodie could resist reading about all the delicious concoctions the characters make? The issues besetting the contestants and the original Mrs. Eaden are interesting; I thought it was daring of the author to combine a book about the love of cooking with fixations about weight and perfection (mirroring the “rules” in the cookbook) and the conflict in women so common still, between fulfilling your own dreams versus meeting the needs of your family.The dénouement was also quite satisfying, and was cause for the use of much kleenex.
    • 4/5
      One year after the death of Kathleen Eaden, author of the classic and beloved “The Art of Baking” dies, the posh Eaden grocery chain is holding a bake-off. The prize? To become “The New Mrs. Eaden”. The winner will receive a 50,000 pound (roughly $75,000 US) contract to advise the chain on its line of baked goods and become the ‘face’ of Eaden’s baked goods. The path is then opened for the winner to have their own celebrity baker career. The book focuses on the five competitors who are selected to attend the bake-off, and also on the original Mrs. Eaden back in 1966 as she works on the cookbook. Vickie, Karen, Jenny, Claire, and Mike all travel to the rambling country house, with its huge and lavish kitchens, where the Eadens once lived and is now a headquarters for some of the company happenings. The bake-off takes place over several weekends, each weekend being devoted to a different type of baked goods: pies, bread, cakes, etc. Each competitor grapples with their own set of life problems as she strives to perfect her craft: the stay at home mom, the perfectionist, the poor single mother, the widower, the empty nester, and, of course, Kathleen Eaden, whom they all think of as the perfect homemaker as her cook book implies. These struggles, and the competition itself, prove fertile ground for the growth of their characters. I liked some characters and disliked one very much for a lot of the book, until her back story was revealed. The book isn’t really about baking at all- although it’s certainly full of baking. It’s all about motherhood and family and women’s choices. I am a bit torn about the book; parts are very, very good but there are weaknesses as well. Some of the characters are nearly unused, including a character who makes the cover copy. These characters are not people but just objects that serve a function, much like a door stop. All the men are like this; the only male who gets much play is really a caricature. The women, on the other hand, are pretty well done. The excerpts from Mrs. Eaden’s baking book are lyrical and over the top in their praises of what good baking can do for one’s family. It seems that to her, all family problems can be solved with a proper pastry-which turns out to be ironic indeed. Martha Stewart would fade into the background next to this woman and her odes to homemaking. Oddly, the competition itself is somewhat in the background; the problems the women have getting there gets a lot of time but there is no tension to the baking and judging themselves- sometimes we don’t even know who won a segment until it’s mentioned in passing later. As the plot device on which the book hangs I would have thought it would have taken center stage. This is one of those books I can’t give five stars to, but when the author writes another book I will be reading it.
    • 3/5
      I just finished reading The Art of Baking Blind by Sarah Vaughan. It is a British novel about five people who have entered a competition to be the next Mrs. Eaden. Kathleen Eaden was the face of her husband’s chain of grocery stores called Eaden and Sons. Kathleen was an avid baker and wrote a column about baking for Home Magazine. Kathleen also wrote a cookbook called The Art of Baking. It was published in 1966 and is considered a classic. Kathleen Eaden had died the previous year and now the company needs a new Mrs. Eaden. The applicants need to be talented amateur bakers. Vicki Marchant is a wife to Greg, who is a lawyer, and the mother of three year old Alfie. Vicki stays home with her son and they enjoy baking together. Vicki, though, does not enjoy staying at home. Her son is a challenge, her husband is never home, and she gets lonely. Vicki trained to be a teacher. She feels that she is not living up to her potential (her mother’s words). Vicki and her mother are not close. Vicki is always trying to get praise or recognition from her mother. Vicki wonders if her mother will be proud of her if she wins the next Mrs. Eaden contest. Jennifer “Jenny” Briggs is fifty-two, married, has three grown children (who are at university), and she loves to bake. Jenny is having trouble adjusting to an empty nest. Baking and cooking is a comfort for her. Jenny is now overweight. Her husband, Nigel is on a fitness kick since his brother had a heart attack. He is always out running and now he is entering marathons. Nigel has started berating Jenny about her weight and all the baking. Jenny is entering the competition because she knows she is good at baking, but she is also bored. Jenny does not think that she will be accepted as an applicant because she is heavy, grey hair cut in a bob, and dresses plainly. Jenny is always doing for others, and now it is time she did something for herself.Karen Hammond is forty-seven, but does everything in her power to look younger. She exercises relentlessly, gets spa treatments, and etc. She loves to bake, but Karen never tastes anything she makes. Karen has worked hard to overcome her middle class roots and wants the best for her children. Karen is married to Oliver and has two children. Karen has secrets and she does not want them to come out.Claire Trelawney is a checker at Eaden and Sons. She is a single mom. Her little girl, Chloe is nine years old. Chloe loves watching cooking and baking shows, but she cannot afford expensive ingredients (like those sold at Eaden and Sons). Claire’s mother has signed her up for the show (Claire would never have entered if though she wanted to). Claire is nervous, but excited. Mike Wilkinson is forty-two years old, has two children, and is a widower. His wife died two years ago. Since the death of his wife Mike has learned to be a good coke and he loves to bake. We are not told much about Mike in the book (focuses more on the four women). He seems like a kind man who has a more carefree attitude toward baking (does not measure exactly).These ladies get to know each other as the competition progresses. We get to see into their lives and what shaped them. They all have obstacles they need to overcome. Read The Art of Baking Blind to see how the competition ends and how it changes each of them. I give The Art of Baking Blind 3 out of 5 stars. It is an interesting book, but it did not draw me in and hold my attention. It is a British novel so it contains different spellings of words than we are used to in America and words can mean different things in the United Kingdom (example: cookies are called biscuits, cake is sponge, and their puddings are not soft and velvety smooth).I received a complimentary copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions and review are my own.
    • 5/5
      THE ART OF BAKING BLIND by Sarah VaughanVaughan has created five very likeable characters in the contestants for the “Next Mrs. Eaden, ‘ although Mike seems like the required male, an afterthought serving only as a foil for Claire’s Jay. Kathleen Eadon, who appears in back flashes, is the glue that serves to highlight each of the other character’s flaws and perfections. The book is lengthy (over 400 pages) but is a “quick” read. You will want to know the conclusion of the contest, and the solutions to each of the contestant’s (and Kathleen’s) dilemmas. The pronunciation of Kathleen’s last name might lead one to believe that housewifely skills always produce an “Eden” in one’s life -- and one would be wrong. I hope in the finished book there is a glossary of the British cookery terms – and pictures of the wonderful treats the bakers create. The descriptions of the baking projects are scrumptious and will send you to the kitchen -- or hustling off to the grocery. Book groups will find a “baker’s dozen” of topics for discussion – marriage, motherhood, cookery skills, self-worth, bulimia, miscarriage, contests , love vs sex, perfection and many more.5 of 5 stars
    • 3/5
      The Art of Baking Blind is pleasant debut novel for British journalist Sarah Vaughan.In 1966, Kathleen Eaden, cookery writer and wife of a supermarket magnate, published 'The Art of Baking', her guide to nurturing a family by creating the most exquisite pastries, biscuits and cakes. A year after her death, a competition is being held to find the 'New Mrs Eaden', where the winner will receive a £50,000 contract to advise the supermarket on its selection of baked products, take the lead in an advertising campaign, and write a monthly magazine column. Four women and one man have been chosen to compete, striving for the perfection in the kitchen, that has eluded them in their real lives.The novel unfolds through the viewpoints of Vaughan's four main female characters intertwined with Kathleen Eaden's story, and excerpts from 'The Art of Baking'.Vicki, mother to three year old Alfie, is finding being a stay at home mother difficult and is excited by the challenge of the competition. Jenny has given all of herself to her family, but with her daughters having flown the nest and her husband disinterested, baking is all she has left. Karen strives for perfection in all things and views the competition as a way to prove herself. Claire is a hard working single mother who hopes that winning the contest will give her and her daughter a chance to better their lives.While the contestants strive to turn out perfect pastries and pies every weekend, Vaughan slowly reveals the challenges each woman is facing at home. Jenny, for example, is almost certain her husband is having an affair, while Claire's daughter's father makes an unexpected return. There is depth here, though I think perhaps Vaughan spreads herself a little too thin and some of the characters, and their stories, are truncated. Karen's story finishes quite abruptly, and Mike, the fifth contestant, is little more than a token.The competition to become the next Mrs Eaden bears similarities to the television show, The Great British Bake Off, though this contest is not televised and there is no weekly elimination. Sadly there are no recipes included in the book, but the descriptions of the contestants offerings, ranging from Chelsea Buns to a Springtime Quiche, are ambrosial and I couldn't resist baking a simple after school treat for my children when I'd finished the last page.A story about family, relationships, and the art of baking, I enjoyed this engaging novel.