Mrs. Whaley Entertains

From Charleston's celebrity gardener, who also “had a way with the stove,” a memoir of Southern entertaining and cooking, captured in her inimitable voice (New York Times).

When Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden was first published almost thirty years ago, it took the gardening world by storm. You didn’t think she’d keep the rest of her strong opinions to herself, did you? Not on your life.

Mrs. Whaley’s back, with her other favorite hobby—cooking delicious meals. And she’s just as “quotable” as ever: “If the hostess is all a-flutter like a butterfly caught in a net—then, as the Irish say, ‘I wish I was to home and the party was to hell.’” Don’t serve guests’ dishes “you haven’t made successfully two or three times—and quite lately.” And after supper, “Leave the dishes on the table, blow out the candles, shut the door and serve finger desserts and coffee in another room . . .do not let your guests help you clean up!” In addition to advice, Mrs. Whaley has opened her personal scrapbook of recipes and selected one hundred of her favorites, including regional delectables like “Edisto Shrimp Pie,” great dinner dishes like “Louisa Hagood’s Ginger Chicken” and “Miss Em’s Pork Tenderloin,” old-fashioned breakfast breads like “Nan’s Little Thin Corn Cakes,” and true discoveries like “Dancing School Fudge.”

Just as he did in their first acclaimed, best-selling collaboration, author William Baldwin perfectly captures the octogenarian's cadence: “Inviting people to break bread with me challenges my skills at cooking and fielding a congenial gathering of people. And I love a challenge.”

“The tone is decidedly gracious and unhurried, and the storytelling is spellbinding.” —Booklist