"On the eve of the twentieth century, Mary Mallon emigrated from Ireland at age fifteen to make her way in New York City. Brave, headstrong, and dreaming of being a cook, she fought to climb up from the lowest rung of the domestic-service ladder. Canny and enterprising, she worked her way to the kitchen, and discovered in herself the true talent of a chef. Sought after by New York aristocracy, and with an independence rare for a woman of the time,...

"The "infectiously readable" (Vanity Fair) novel about the woman known as "Typhoid Mary," who becomes, "in Keane's assured hands...a sympathetic, complex, and even inspiring character" (O, The Oprah Magazine)"--