Kenneth Roberts – The Unofficial Site

Being a book collector on a budget is both a challenge and exciting. This is the case for me when it comes to Kenneth Roberts’ books. Sure, I can buy books on Amazon or eBay, but where is the fun in that? I’ve found greater joy in finding a Roberts book at an antique store or a used book store. It’s the excitement of the hunt; the hard work is paid when a Roberts book is located and purchased.

One of the most difficult books to locate is Marjorie Mosser’s Good Maine Food – a book in which Roberts helped his niece to compile recipes and provide notes on various recipes. Roberts is well-known for the love he had for his home state; intimately linked to this love is his adoration for his grandmother’s cooking, which is evident in his various essays. Though I prefer to purchase Roberts’ novels, I have kept an eye out for Good Maine Food to add to my collection. I’ve found, though, that this cookbook has been as difficult to locate as Roberts’ earliest publications.

Today, however, was one of the most successful hunts I’ve had in quite some time. I randomly stopped at a local antique mall to just browse, and to my surprise, I found a 1974 edition of Good Maine Food! This is the first copy I’ve ever found since I’ve begun collecting Roberts books in 1999. Granted, it is nowhere near being a first edition, but considering how long I’ve been looking for this book, I snatched it up and held on to it for dear life.

I found the pictured copy of Good Maine Food in literally the last booth I looked through; then, to my delight, one of my daughters told me that there were more booths in the basement (my other daughters chided her for bring up this delightful news). And so, on to the basement we went. About halfway through, I went to a booth that had only a few books (the booth owner focused primarily on decorative items); lo and behold, my eyes immediately landed on another copy of Good Maine Food – this one a 1947 hardback edition. I couldn’t believe it! I could not find a copy for 17 years, and in one day – within 20 minutes – I find two copies! Further, I find a cookbook on Maine food in Louisville, Kentucky – not the hub of Maine cuisine. (Below are some images of the spine, the front cover, and the title page.)

Kenneth Roberts penned the introduction to Good Maine Food, and even here his classic wit is evident.

I like good food; and ever since I’ve known anything at all about such things, I’ve known that the best foods are the simplest. Good Maine Food ignores cookery that is namby-pamby, twiddly, cloying, fussy, messy and immature, and emphasizes foods that appeal to men and women whose tastes are sound and sturdy (xi).

Even in the introduction, Roberts provides excellent biographical information and a look into the Roberts the man. At the beginning of each chapter, Roberts provides a small blurb about the kinds of food discussed. Also included are “Maine Maxims” – nuggets of wisdom to consider when preparing your food or preparation area. In short, Mosser and Roberts provide not only a cookbook of Maine cuisine, they provide a short history of Roberts and of Maine – an interesting reading indeed.

Filed under: Good Maine Food | Tagged: cookbook, Good Maine Food, Maine foods, Marjorie Mosser | Leave a comment »