The Sweetheart Season

A funny and warm novel from the Man Booker shortlisted author of bestselling hit The Jane Austen Book Club

''Polls have recently confirmed what has long been suspected; most men do not want brainy women. Stewardesses have turned out to be that occupation blessed most often with marriage. The key elements appear to be uniforms and travel.''

It is 1947 and in the aftermath of World War II halcyon days have not returned to Magrit, Minnesota, where the veterans have failed to come home. The men haven''t died; they''ve just moved onto greener pastures, rejecting the local women, who served the war effort in the Scientific Kitchen of Margaret Mill. The mill was founded by Henry Collins, the man responsible for Sweetwheats, the world''s first puffed and sugar-coated cereal. As part of a publicity campaign, Henry creates the Sweetwheats Sweethearts all-girl baseball team, convincing the mill girls that this will help them find husbands.

''A joy to read'' - USA Today
''A remarkable treasure - often wistful and hilarious at once ... Smart, wry, and just this side of insane'' - Washington Post ''Full of sparkling wit ... In territory long ago staked out by Garrison Keillor, The Sweetheart Season reads like the best of Lake Wobegon and then some'' - Philadelphia Inquirer