--- product_id: 221609 title: "The Egg and I" price: "£11.42" currency: GBP in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/221609-the-egg-and-i store_origin: GB region: United Kingdom --- # The Egg and I **Price:** £11.42 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Egg and I - **How much does it cost?** £11.42 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/221609-the-egg-and-i) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description “A work of real comic genius. . . . A wonderful, funny, warm, honest book, and, to use a much overused word, a classic.” — Michael Korda, author of Country Matters When Betty MacDonald married a Marine and moved to a small chicken farm on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, she was largely unprepared for the rigors of life in the wild. With no running water, no electricity, a house in need of constant repair, and days that ran from four in the morning to nine at night, the MacDonalds had barely a moment to put their feet up and relax. And then came the children. Yet through every trial and pitfall—through chaos and catastrophe—this indomitable family somehow, mercifully, never lost its sense of humor. A beloved literary treasure for more than half a century, Betty MacDonald's The Egg and I is a heartwarming and uproarious account of adventure and survival on an American frontier. Review: Hilarious Classic - My family has read and re-read and quoted this semi-autobiographical book for decades. I believe it is the funniest book ever written. Although it takes place in the 1920's, the witty author's humor, descriptions, and outlook on life are as current as ever. At once cynical, enthusiastic, appreciative, critical, spirited, and desperate, the author's account of her life on a chicken farm in the Olympic Mountains of Washington, as a naive sheltered newlywed, is priceless. Nobody can turn a phrase like Betty McDonald. She immortalized wonderful characters like Ma and Pa Kettle and their huge family, "church-lady" neighbor Birdie Hicks, McDonald's eccentric grandmother "Gammy," and colorful handymen Peter Moses and "Good Customer." McDonald was sued after the book became a success, by the Bishop family who believed they were the model for the Kettles, and by a Native American man who believed himself the model for the Native American friend of her husband she entitled "Crowbar." Be warned - the book is screamingly politically incorrect, shamelessly disparaging country people, Native Americans, farmers, Irish, and other groups, but at the time of its original publication, this was much more common and accepted by the general public, if not the segment being stereotyped. Other classics written decades ago suffer from the same shortcoming; even the beloved Laura Ingalls Wilder books talk candidly about "Ma" hating Indians. If you can chill and love the book for what it has to offer, while accepting that it was written almost 90 years ago in a very different world, you will fall in love with it. Also, if you read between the lines, you will find that McDonald had great affection for most of the individuals she wrote about, even while criticizing others of their ethnic or socioeconomic group. All in all, the book is a joy and will give you a glimpse of a world we will never see again, when there were still large amounts of unsettled land out West, and a time when family farms could still be profitable and offer a rewarding way of life, and you will almost surely come to love Betty McDonald as a funny and most entertaining friend. Review: Good Book - I read this book or at least a version of it when I was young. I enjoyed it so much at that time that I bought it as an adult. It seemed very funny to me at the time, with all the chicken rearing antics together with the child rearing ups and downs. But when I read it as an adult, it did not seem as fun. Not sure if I did not understand it as a child or if I lost my sense of humor but either way, I could not give it 5 stars in all fairness. ## Features - Author: MacDonald, Betty. - Publisher: Harper Perennial - Pages: 288 - Publication Date: 2008-06-24 - Edition: Reissue - Binding: Paperback - MSRP: 9.2 - ISBN13: 9780060914288 - ISBN: 0060914289 - Other ISBN: 9780062047748 - Other ISBN Binding: print - Language: en ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #150,504 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #627 in Author Biographies #983 in Women's Biographies #4,198 in Memoirs (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.3 out of 5 stars 1,655 Reviews | ## Images ![The Egg and I - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71RxgFuKK8L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Hilarious Classic *by B***S on June 22, 2013* My family has read and re-read and quoted this semi-autobiographical book for decades. I believe it is the funniest book ever written. Although it takes place in the 1920's, the witty author's humor, descriptions, and outlook on life are as current as ever. At once cynical, enthusiastic, appreciative, critical, spirited, and desperate, the author's account of her life on a chicken farm in the Olympic Mountains of Washington, as a naive sheltered newlywed, is priceless. Nobody can turn a phrase like Betty McDonald. She immortalized wonderful characters like Ma and Pa Kettle and their huge family, "church-lady" neighbor Birdie Hicks, McDonald's eccentric grandmother "Gammy," and colorful handymen Peter Moses and "Good Customer." McDonald was sued after the book became a success, by the Bishop family who believed they were the model for the Kettles, and by a Native American man who believed himself the model for the Native American friend of her husband she entitled "Crowbar." Be warned - the book is screamingly politically incorrect, shamelessly disparaging country people, Native Americans, farmers, Irish, and other groups, but at the time of its original publication, this was much more common and accepted by the general public, if not the segment being stereotyped. Other classics written decades ago suffer from the same shortcoming; even the beloved Laura Ingalls Wilder books talk candidly about "Ma" hating Indians. If you can chill and love the book for what it has to offer, while accepting that it was written almost 90 years ago in a very different world, you will fall in love with it. Also, if you read between the lines, you will find that McDonald had great affection for most of the individuals she wrote about, even while criticizing others of their ethnic or socioeconomic group. All in all, the book is a joy and will give you a glimpse of a world we will never see again, when there were still large amounts of unsettled land out West, and a time when family farms could still be profitable and offer a rewarding way of life, and you will almost surely come to love Betty McDonald as a funny and most entertaining friend. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good Book *by Y***P on June 19, 2025* I read this book or at least a version of it when I was young. I enjoyed it so much at that time that I bought it as an adult. It seemed very funny to me at the time, with all the chicken rearing antics together with the child rearing ups and downs. But when I read it as an adult, it did not seem as fun. Not sure if I did not understand it as a child or if I lost my sense of humor but either way, I could not give it 5 stars in all fairness. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Extremely well-written with charming and delightful characters and is one audio book that I will listen to again and again. *by T***. on December 2, 2016* The Egg and I, written by Betty MacDonald, is entertaining, witty, heartening, and uplifting. Ms. MacDonald took difficult times in her life and made them appear fun by utilizing witty and dry humor throughout. The good, the bad, and the ugly of married life on a chicken farm in the late 1920’s is written with such flare that even today I think some people will relate to some of the situations. The Egg and I is narrated by Heather Henderson and she performed the story so well that I thought Betty MacDonald herself was sitting in my living room telling the story. Henderson’s voice is soothing and hypnotic and took an already great book to an utterly outstanding book! The ‘voice’ of Pa Kettle was perhaps my favorite, but the ‘voices’ of all the characters were distinctive and enjoyable to listen to. Ms. Henderson is a new narrator for me, but I will definitely search out more titles narrated by her in the future - especially the other books written by Betty MacDonald. Overall, this was a fun book to listen to and I found myself laughing out loud throughout. The Egg and I is extremely well-written with charming and delightful characters and is one audio book that I will listen to again and again. Story – 4 stars Performance – 5 stars Overall – 4.5 stars ## Frequently Bought Together - The Egg and I - Betty: The Story of Betty MacDonald, Author of The Egg and I --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/221609-the-egg-and-i](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/221609-the-egg-and-i) --- *Product available on Desertcart United Kingdom* *Store origin: GB* *Last updated: 2026-06-07*