"They say there is no such thing as a perfect marriage. A perfect marriage is one where two people live together for most of their lives until death separates them. What there is no such thing as is an easy marriage".

New York food writer Tressa returns from honeymoon worried that she has married her impossibly handsome new husband Dan out of panic rather than love.

In 1930's Ireland, her grandmother, Bernardine, has wed James, the quiet and unexciting local schoolteacher after her family is unable to raise a dowry to allow her to marry her true love, Michael.

On her own wedding day, Tressa is offered her grandmother's diaries and hidden in the pages finds unexpected comfort, learning - amongst the timeless recipes for jam, soda bread and rhubarb tart - of an age old narrative about grandparents, her mother, and ultimately herself. And soon she realises that she has been given a true gift, for what she discovers is how to capture the perfect marriage.

"This story is written with so much heart, its beat is palpable in every word on every page"

Cecilia Ahern

RECIPES FOR A PERFECT MARRIAGE is an enchanting, richly informative and perceptive novel which challenges the modern ideal of romantic love as a given and ponders whether true love can really be learned.