A journey into the secret history of an iconic food. Delving deep into the storied past of the apple in North America, Humphreys explores the intricate link between agriculture, settlement, and human relationships. She brings light to such varied topics as how the apple first came across the Atlantic Ocean with a relatively unknown Quaker woman long before the more famed "Johnny Appleseed"; how bountiful Indigenous orchards were targeted to be taken over or eradicated by white settlers and their armies; how the once-17,000 varietals of apple cultivated were catalogued by watercolour artists from the United States Department of Pomology; how apples wove into the life and poetry of Robert Frost; and how Humphreys' own curiosity was piqued by the Winter Pear Pearmain, believed to be the world's best tasting apple, which she found growing beside an abandoned cottage not far from her home. Helen Humphreys is a Canadian poet and novelist. She was born in Kingston-on-Thames, England and now lives in Kingston, Ontario.