America’s favorite stockbroker-turned-lifestyle mogul rereleased her first book, Entertaining, today. Though there’s no new material in the reissue, reheating her own nachos for a new generation should be a piece of cake for Martha Stewart, who allegedly made flan in prison one time.
Why relaunch? Entertaining, originally published in 1982, has been out of print for years, but interest in the 300-recipe compendium that spawned Stewart’s business empire spiked last year, after CNN and Netflix both released documentaries about her. The book’s publisher said it decided to reissue the book (a rare move) after new young fans started elbowing for vintage editions:
- Online resale prices recently ranged from $173 to $311, or $1,700+ for a shrink-wrapped version, according to the New York Times.
- It took five eBay bidding wars for the popular cooking creator Meredith Hayden, aka Wishbone Kitchen, to secure a copy last year, she posted on TikTok.
Two changes: The Entertaining reissue is printed on nicer paper and costs $50, up from $35 originally. But every word is the same, including a dedication to Stewart’s now ex-husband and the use of “Oriental” to refer to Asian cuisine.
New audience: Stewart told the Washington Post that she thinks twenty-somethings will buy the reissue “because I’m cool. Not only can I cook, I hang out with Snoop Dogg and I have gone to jail. I have been through the wringer and come out alive.”—ML
This report was originally published by Morning Brew.
