The Summer Country by Lauren Willig

The Summer Country by Lauren Willig
Published by William Morrow ISBN 9780062839022
Hardcover, $26.99, 464 pages

Historical fiction author Lauren Willig usually writes books set in England. While on vacation in the Caribbean, she visited a museum and heard a story about a plantation fire that killed the Portuguese ward of the owner. The child was neither his ward, nor Portuguese, but was his daughter by an enslaved woman. Willig wanted to know what happened to the mother. Did she live there too? Was she able to claim and care for her child? Did she die in the fire as well?

She turned this story into her latest book, The Summer Country, a book she lovingly refers to as 'the Barbados book.' Set in two time periods, 1812 and in 1854, where we meet Emily, a young vicar's daughter who travels from her home in England to Barbados, where she finds that she has inherited a sugar plantation from her grandfather. No one even knew he had a sugar plantation.

Emily finds the plantation is burned down and in terrible ruins, and she is discouraged. The family that owns the plantation next door wants to buy the plantation from her, and although they seem to be very welcoming to her and her brother, when she hesitates to sell they turn unfriendly.

Arriving in Bridgetown, Emily and her brother Adam meet Nathaniel, a black doctor who lives with his white aunt and uncle. Nathaniel invites Emily to visit the British Royal Infirmary where he works, and she is intrigued.

Emily and Nathaniel are attracted to each other, and when a cholera epidemic hits the island, Emily pitches in to help, much to the consternation of her brother. The cholera epidemic actually happened at that time, and it plays a role in the story.

In 1812, we find out more about the plantations and the mystery of how Emily's grandfather's plantation came to become abandoned and burned down. (This is where the Portuguese ward comes into play.)

Willig's research is so impeccably detailed, you feel like you have been dropped right into 19th century Barbados. You can feel the heat, smell the flowers, and taste the food. My husband and I have spent time in Barbados, and the history of the island is so prominent, more so than any other Caribbean island. The British influence is still very visible, and Willig brings the history of the island to the forefront of her incredible story. (Lauren Willig has a book club reading guide on her website and it's filled with insight on the writing of The Summer Country. It's fascinating, and you can find it here.)

You'll find yourself lost in The Summer Country, and I enjoyed seeing how Emily took charge and asserted herself, even over the objections of her brother and the times she lived in. You're torn between racing through the story to find out what happened at the burned-out plantation and wanting to savor the atmospheric details and remarkable writing. The epilogue is the perfect ending to a magnificent book. Historical fiction fans should put The Summer Country on their summer reading list. I highly recommend it.

Lauren Willig at Barnes & Noble

Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on Lauren Willig's tour. The rest of her stops are here:

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Weekend Cooking- The Lone Star in Barbados

This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food.

Every January, my husband, his brother and sister-in-law and I visit Barbados. The weather is always perfect, 80 degrees, sunny with a nice breeze. We rent a villa, spend days sitting by the pool and at night we have dinner at the many fabulous restaurants we have found there.

We started vacation with lunch at L'Azure at the Crane Resort. We had our first rum punch of the trip and each of us ordered the Oistins Burger, a mahi mahi burger that began the trip with a bang and beautiful scenery.

The view from L'Azure

Our dinner at the Tides is always a delight, with wonderful service and our favorite cocktail of the entire trip (and there were many), the Sea Monkey.

Three Sea Monkeys and a Corona from the Tides

Cin Cin is a newer restaurant, one we tried for the first time last year and returned to this year. The decor is modern, and we sat right on the water. Their starter special that night was a Warm Shrimp Salad with a creamy parmesan dressing that was amazing.

We tried a new restaurant this time, The Lone Star. It was purchased a few years and renovated, as it used be on the site of an old garage. The ambience was very inviting and sleek, and we were seated right away.

I had the Southern Belle cocktail, which had Grey Goose vodka, grapefruit juice, honey, mint and grapefruit bitters. I was a little hesitant, but the flavors blended together beautifully, and it went down very smooth.

My Southern Belle, front right

For our starter, I had a Warm Caramelized Onion, Tomato and Chevre Tartlet that was fantastic. And I don't like tomato. As an entree, three of us ordered the Maine Lobster and Prawn Risotto. It was heavenly, easily the best food I had the entire trip. We ended with the Banana Donuts with Coconut Ice Cream, Rum Sauce and Chopped Pistachios.

Warm Onion Tartlet

Lobster & Prawn Risotto

Banana Donuts

The views from our villa

This dinner was our favorite, from start to finish, and we can't wait to return next year to eat there again. The only minus was that the service was a bit slow, and we felt bad for the servers whose uniform consisted of white overalls, like you'd see in a garage. We get that they were trying to pay homage to the former garage, but it is a higher-end restaurant, and the uniforms detracted from that ambience.

The vacation was a hit once again, and we highly recommend Barbados as a vacation destination for people who enjoy dinners out. There are so many great restaurants, and we were so excited to find The Lone Star.

Weekend Cooking- Vacation in Barbados

This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food.

We made our annual vacation trek to Barbados last week with my husband's brother and his wife, and once again it was a relaxing, fantastic week. We even got a bonus day due to the snowstorm that socked in NYC! (I know, aww, poor us.)

This time instead of staying at the Hilton Resort, we rented a villa right on the beach and this was the way to go. It was a gorgeous home, with a huge veranda, private pool, hot tub, a gazebo overlooking the sea and a private entrance to the beautiful beach.

Looking out from our veranda

A private cook came with the villa, and Darlene cooked us breakfast and lunch most days. Each morning we had scrambled eggs and bacon with fresh fruit and it was the perfect way to start our days.

We asked her what was the one dish that her children asked to make, and when she said chicken and rice, we asked her to make it for us. Boy, was it delicious! She marinated the chicken in lime juice, salt and pepper, then breaded it and fried it on the stove top.

It was the best fried chicken I ever had! It didn't taste greasy at all, just juicy and full of flavor. She added beans and pigeon peas to the rice, and made a sauce that my husband his brother raved about. Darlene's homemade coleslaw and a fresh salad rounded out the fabulous meal.

Darlene's lunch

This disappeared off my plate pretty quickly

If you visit Barbados, going to Oistins Fish Fry on Fridays is a must. We always wait in line at Uncle George's for our meal of grilled shrimp and mahi mahi, with grilled potatoes and macaroni pie. It is the freshest, most simply prepared and most delicious fish you will ever eat.

Everyone sits at picnic tables, and you will always meet someone interesting to chat with while you eat. You can wander the shop stalls and get some souvenirs (I got a cross necklace) and watch the guys playing dominoes. We look forward to this every year.

The crowd at Uncle George's

Our delicious meals at Uncle George's

The guys playing dominoes

Working the grill at Uncle George's

There are so many wonderful restaurants in Barbados, and we visited an old favorite, The Tides, and tried a few new ones. Scarlet is a tiny restaurant in a small building that you might pass by if you didn't know any better.

The interior decor is red walls with reproductions of Andy Warhol's iconic paintings of Jackie Kennedy along one wall and Marilyn Monroe along the opposite wall. The presentation of each plate was as wonderful as the food itself. The appetizers were particularly good, with the sesame prawn toast with a sweet and sour dipping sauce and crusted and panko crusted chicken strips with pesto mayo the big hits.

The sesame prawn toast presentation at Scarlet

The other new place we tried is a restaurant new to the island- Cin Cin. It has a very Miami Beach vibe, all sleek glass and white walls. It is gorgeous! We ate out on the terrace, right on the water. The service was impeccable, and the food was amazing.  I had the crabcake appetizer, which was fabulous. Three of us had the mahi mahi special, poached over linguine with shaved zucchini, cherry tomatoes and asparagus. The fish was so tender, it melted in your mouth. Our specialty cocktails were rather enjoyable too.

Cin Cin, from their website

Mahi Mahi over linguine at Cin Cin

Crab cakes at Cin Cin

I highly recommend visiting Barbados if you have never been; the weather is always a perfect 84 degrees, the view is spectacular and the food is top notch.

Weekend Cooking- Some Great Meals in Barbados

This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food.

We have visited the Barbados for the past three years in January and it's a wonderful winter get-away. We chose a good time to get away this year- it was 12 degrees in NYC when we left!

It's always sunny and 86 degrees in Barbados, with a nice breeze blowing; the weather is truly perfect. The food is very good, and there are several terrific restaurants that we like to visit. We had dinner at The Tides and Champers as usual, but we added a few new places.

The first night we visited Tapas, which is right on the water, close to our hotel. The food was really good, lots of small plates to share (I had the shark fritters), and the highlight of the meal was my brother-in-law's Mixed Seafood Grill. They also had a nice wine list, though the service left something to be desired.

The Mixed Seafood Grill at Tapas

Of course, we wouldn't miss the Friday night Fish Fry at Oistins. We ate at Uncle George's again, but this year the line was not a hour's wait. We love Uncle George's, it reminds us a little of Doug's Fish Fry in Skaneateles. You wait in a long line, and then you sit at long picnic tables to eat. 

We met a lovely couple from Britain at our table and enjoyed their company, along with our grilled shrimp, mahi mahi, and macaroni pie (what we call macaroni salad). They served the shrimp on a bed of pasta that was absolutely delicious, and you can't beat the price- less than $20 for the whole meal, and the food is so fresh. 

Uncle George's at Oistins

We had lunch at L'Azure, a restaurant at the Crane Resort, and in addition to a fabulous meal- we all ordered the Oistins Burger, a mahi mahi burger with fries- we had the most gorgeous view of one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Seriously.

Crane's Beach- so beautiful!

Oistins Burger- yum

My husband and his brother visited a rum shack last year that they enjoyed, so this year they brought us ladies for a visit. There are lots of rum shacks roadside in Barbados where people stop off for a drink (or two) and sometimes food. We visited Jenny's Rum Bar, and had breakfast- Chris had fish cakes and the rest of us had egg, ham and cheese on a roll. It was delicious, and the ambiance was even better. Jenny is a lovely woman and we met some of her regular customers, who were friendly and gave us some good tips on where we should go. If you ever visit Barbados, be sure to stop by Jenny's.

Jenny and the guys

Jenny's Rum Bar

Our last dinner was at Champers, which was fabulous as always. We sit right out over the water, with the waves crashing underneath us. The food is amazing; the highlights were Crispy Vegetable Spring Rolls, Shrimp & Mango Salad, Grilled Sea Scallops and Parmesan Crusted Barracuda. Between the food, the ambiance and the service, you can't beat it.

Champers (from their website)

If you are a big fish eater, Barbados is the place for you. It's such a lovely place to visit, I'd like to spend more than a few days there next time.

Weekend Cooking- A Barbados Food Feast

My husband and I celebrate our 25th anniversary this year, and along with his brother and his brother's wife (also celebrating 25 years), we took a trip to Barbados last week.

The weather in Barbados is perfect- 80 degrees every day, a nice breeze, and beautiful sunshine. My sister-in-law is curious as to why the sand is always cool to walk on, never too hot, but I don't know why- anyone have the answer?

Anyway, Barbados has some truly fantastic restaurants, and every one we went to, we thoroughly enjoyed. On Fridays, the town of Oistins hosts a Fish Fry. There are dozens of food stands and small restaurants lined up one after the other, most serving fish.

We went to Uncle George's, and even though we were told the wait in line would be about an hour (and it was), it was worth it. And besides, they take drink orders and bring you back a cold beverage while you wait. Banks Beer, the beer of Barbados, was a popular choice. (Don't try the Carib beer- it's not a winner.)

When we got to the front of the line, we placed our order for marlin, tuna and shrimp. Each fish is grilled and comes with cole slaw and a baked potato that is halved and grilled. Tartar sauce is served on the side. You make your way to a picnic table and dig in.

The fish was the best I have ever had! They brush on a seasoned oil when they grill, the same oil they brush on the potato. The big man working the grill was amazing; he had at least six different kinds of fish on the grill, plus the potatoes, and every piece of fish that came off that grill was cooked to perfection; not undercooked, not overcooked, just right. And it only cost $15.

Shrimp dinner at Uncle George's

Marlin dinner at Uncle George's

The atmosphere was fun too. They had stalls where you could buy jewelry ( I got two beautiful bracelets), art work, and souvenirs and everything was $20. The setup reminded me of the New York State Fair.

On Saturday we drove up the west coast to The Tides restaurant. There is an art gallery when you first walk in, filled with beautiful Bajan art work for sale. We got to sit in the treehouse section of the restaurant, right on the beach.

The treehouse

The scenery was gorgeous, and the food was delicious. My husband enjoyed his drink, the Sea Monkey, which was like a martini with raspberries. My favorite dish of the night was the lobster risotto, which they topped with lobster bisque. My chicken entree came with Lemon Cous Cous, a Bajan specialty made with cornmeal. My brother-in-law had the catch of day blackened, and he pronounced it just spicy enough. I highly recommend the Tides for a special occasion.

On Sunday, we went to Champers, a restaurant we had been to previously. You sit outside, right over the water. You can even feel the splash of the water as it hits the rocks below.

Champers

My sister-in-law and I had the Crispy Vegetable Spring Rolls and Shrimp Mango Salad, both appetizers, as our meal. The spring rolls were so light and tasty, and the salad was so good, I made it for dinner when we returned home. It is a refreshing change of pace, and I found Bolthouse Tropical Mango Vinaigrette dressing at Fairway Market, so it was easy too.

Shrimp Mango Salad

My brother-in-law had the Parmesan Crusted Barracuda and it was his favorite meal in Barbados. Champers is very romantic, and overall, it had the best food. On the way home, our taxi driver told us he was going there next week for his birthday dinner. Always eat where the locals eat, they know best.

For lunch one day, we had the flying fish sandwich, a Bajan specialty. Everyone enjoyed them. My brother-in-law likes spicy foods, so he tried the Pepperpot, an Indian/Bajan specialty at the Waterfront Cafe. It was very spicy!

I brought home some Mango tea bags so I can have a little taste of Barbados in the afternoon. My brother-in-law brought home some Bajan hot sauce as a souvenir. 

It was an unforgettable trip, and if you have any favorite foods or restaurants in Barbados, be sure to share them in the comments section.

This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food!