Announcing
Carswell House Books
As our publications list continued to grow and diversify, it became clear that we needed a distinctive imprint, one that would be recognizable in the publishing world. After a bit of head scratching, we came up with Carswell House Books, because Mary G’s Artisan Breads id based in an 1856 house built for the watchmaker and jeweller John Carswell. John emigrated from England in the 1790s, and this was his retirement home, finished when he was 76. He lived to be 92, and he and his family are all buried in a row in the cemetery just up the road from us. His diaries show he was a very staunch monarchist, so it’s not that difficult to know how he would have regarded Jim’s much less loyal Irish historical fiction. Still, the name is the continuation of a historical tradition. The list will continue to grow.
The Wood Fired Artisan Bread Book from Carswell House
Many people have travelled to Mary G's Artisan Breads to attend our Introductory and Whole Grains wood fired bread baking workshops. They've come from across the United States, Canada, and as far afield as New Zealand and England. Frequently, they asked for a book- length document that recreates what we do here. Tools Are Made, Born Are Hands is the result. It's based on thousands of hours working with our wood fired oven, plus the input, questions and concerns of hundreds of students: experienced, professionals and beginners alike.
Through 272 pages, 182 photographs, and six chapters, you'll learn the history of these fascinating and enduring ovens, follow a typical two-day workshop in detail, then explore the various oven shapes, types and building methods to select your own. A clear, unbiased investigation of oven types does not exist in print--until now. Throughout, myths are dispelled, little-known tips provided and results-oriented methods explained. Far too much mystery has surrounded true artisan baking. Not here.
How about an authentic Neapolitan pizza baked for ninety seconds on a 750 degree hearth? This book shows you how.
From theory to practical, hands-on techniques, from ingredients to equipment, from wild to commercial yeasts, hearth breads to sweet breads, from preparing to firing and baking, you'll gather the information you need to make genuine artisan breads in a wood fired environment--or even in a home oven. This is exactly the kind of detailed look at real hand-made breads that is not available anywhere else. We know, we checked.
This is a book of method and technique, not hundreds of bewildering recipes. As we tell our students, once you master the recipes in Tools Are Made, Born Are Hands, you will have the ability to approach any formula with confidence, whether you have a wood fired oven or not.
We've sent copies from coast to coast in North America: Vancouver to Halifax, Los Angeles to Boston, Whitehorse to Brownsville. It's even made its way to Holland, Germany and southern England. Plans are in motion to turn it into a paper copy.
Tools Are Made, Born Are Hands is available in pdf format that can be read with Adobe Reader, Adobe Digital Editions (both free programs) or on most book readers. The price is $26.95, CDN, prepaid by PayPal, Interac Email Money Transfer, check, or money order. Canadian residents choose Option 2 in PayPal. The price for US residents (Option 1) takes the exchange rate into account. The pdf can be sent either electronically or on disc.
Please contact us at info@marygbread.comto place an order, get more information or obtain a sample chapter.
Reader's Reactions to Tools Are Made, Born Are Hands
"I just started reading your bread book today, and it is great!" Drew B, Denver, Colorado.
"Started reading it with the intention of checking out a couple pages before hitting the hay. It's now 12:12 AM, and I'm forcing myself to go to bed. Awesome job." Henry W, Scarborough, Ontario.
"Really like the practical, this-world approach and the stories woven in with the facts." Patrick F, Gardena, California.
"Lovely book!" Chris B, Port Carling, Ontario.
"The book is amazing." Frankie Giovanni, San Francisco, CA, www.fgpizza.com.
Carswell House Presents
The Kavanagh Novels by Jim Wills
Cover Design by Wade Nelligan
This is the first in a series of four novels, all of which have Irish culture, settings, personalities, beliefs, triumphs, failures as the background. A Few Men Faithful sets the stage, defines the Kavanagh family, introduces the continuing murderous feud with the Devlins, tells of a troubled land and an equally troubled romance amid war and treachery. The time frame is 1916 to 1924 in Dublin, County Cork and Northern Ireland. The events include the Easter Rising, the Secret War, the War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. This last protraction of the struggle--brother against brother--is little known and less explored, especially through the eyes of a soldier on the losing side.
Danny Kavanagh from County Armagh, the main character, escapes the inferno of Dublin's General Post Office in 1916 only to become one of Michael Collins' Twelve Apostles, that squad of executioners Collins used to put out the spying eyes of the notorious Dublin Castle. It is the story of a soldier haunted, nearly driven mad, by what he has done, what he cannot do, what he has witnessed, yet still holding onto that deathless dream of a united Ireland. He pays the price, finally, after he escapes from Kilmainham Jail, and is shipped as an IRA emissary to North America, far from his beloved homeland. His wife, Sophia, and his two young children are with him. Neither Danny nor Sophia consider what terrible burdens they bring from the old world to the new, and what an agonizing legacy they will create there.
Like all the novels in the Kavanagh series, this one is on street level: at the barricades, in the fields, up against the wall in the Stonebreakers Yard. There is action in every chapter, conflict and contradiction on every page. Anyone interested in high-speed historical fiction will find A Few Men Faithful to their liking. Anyone who has wondered where the modern Troubles originated will find their beinnings here.
A Few Men Faithful runs to 276 pages. It's available as a pdf for $10.50 and can be sent either as an electronic file or on disc. Payment can be made by cheque, money order, Interac Transfer or PayPal. Contact us at www.marygbread.com to place an order, get more information or download a sample chapter. If you prefer a paper copy of this novel, it is available either directly from us or from Amazon ($14.95, plus shipping). Here's a link to it:
The Amazon people have built a book page that let's you see the front and back covers, read the first few pages of Chapter One and random pages from the body of the text. It's a pretty slick set up.
The Kavanagh Saga Continues In
Philly MC, Book II
Shooter in a Plague Year, Book III
This Hard Gemlike Flame, Book IV
All three titles are ready to publish, once the cover designs have been finalized. Philly MC will be appearing in March 2010.
Reader Reviews
These reviews are posted on Amazon.com.
Midnight Oil Burner, October 22, 2009
|
By P. Farina, |
Los Angeles |
|
|
|
This is the first of the Kavanagh saga. Although it may be fiction the events of the time are quite accurate. The schools I went to in the 60s and 70s provided me with the following information on Irish history: 1. there was a potato crop failure and a massive immigration to the US, 2. Ireland wants independence from the UK. There is a total lack of historical & political education. This book brings some of the story to light. This glimpse of a families' generational story is both a page turner and spell binding. It has given cause to read a few non-fiction accounts of the action of the times. Keep a lookout for the other three books by the author, as the tale of the Kavanaghs continues to the next generation.
An Irish Story, November 9, 2009
I loved this book. The Irish lingo, the Irish names, the Irish country side. The author describes it all so artistically. He draws you in to the frays and skirmishes and has you thinking as if you were Danny Kavanagh. This historical fiction will let you know what the Irish had to endure and what they had to do to survive. I can't wait for the sequel.
Light, Heat, Love, Betrayal - Eirinn go Bragh!, October 24, 2009
|
By Patrice O’Neill Maynard, Ghent, NY |
|
This book is rich with accurate history, well researched, poured out in the deliciously nuanced tale of the Kavanagh's. Though the family might be fictitious, the true story of the Irish is unearthed here in a compelling story of human yearning tangled in one beautiful and troubled country's destiny. Galloping through this book on the momentum of the storytelling leaves you wishing for more - more about the strong characters in the family, more about their love and desires forced between violence and revenge, more about the habitual propaganda that has buried the truth, more about the tragic history of the Emerald Isle. It's good, very good! There are rumors of sequels to this book, so don't despair when this one's done - look for them!
A Few Men Faithful - For the Irish in all of us, October 21, 2009
|
By Terry M. Cullison, “Irish Lass from Philly,” Hunt Valley, PA |
|
I read this book at the Jersey shore this summer and loved it. It provides a rich historical background of the Irish "troubles" while holding the reader's interest with the personal stories (life, battles and loves) of the characters. One gets a rich sense of the characters' lives and loyalties. As a second generation Irish-American, I really enjoyed the background information that was obviously well researched. A must read!
