“Far From the Madding Crowd” Book Discussion and Bacon, Ham, and Cheddar Biscuit Recipe

Bathsheba Everdeen is a stubborn but hardworking young woman who inherits her grandfather’s farm just as her once-dear friend falls into personal tragedy. Independently making a living in a man’s world leads her to arrogance and in doubt of ever finding marriage. She thinks love to be a joke and plays a foolish trick on…

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

“Rachel, my torment.” Philip Ashley lives in a Cornish manor with his Uncle Ambrose who essentially raised him. Both men are contented bachelors until a woman named Rachel lures Ambrose into a sudden marriage that ends tragically. When Rachel returns from Italy alone, Philip is determined to be quickly rid of the witch and her…

“The Distant Hours” Book Discussion and Mini Pear Pound Cakes

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton From the first pages of The Distant Hours, imaginations are captured, like Edie’s, by the dark tale of the Mud Man, a haunting fictional book within this one: “Can you hear him? The trees can. They are the first to hear him coming…It is moonless when the Mud Man comes.”…