For example, as Cohen writes in a historical note at the end of the book, Jews were not permitted at the time to attend certain universities, practice law, hold public office or own stores. While “My Fine Fellow” diverges in places from the true history of the era - in reality, Princess Charlotte of Wales died at age 21, before both of her parents - it hews closely to it in other places. The young adult novel is Cohen’s second set in an alternate 19th century Britain, and her first with Jewish characters, along with several original recipes. So begins “My Fine Fellow: A Delicious Entanglement,” a new gender-swap retelling of “My Fair Lady” by local author Jennieke Cohen. But there is one big problem: Unbeknown to the students, the baker is Jewish, and merchants must take a Christian oath in order to operate a business. In order to turn him into a “gentleman chef” who might one day open his own pastry shop, they must teach him proper cooking techniques, etiquette and grammar. Swayed by the bold flavors of his Salvadoran-style empanadas and his rugged charm, they decide to take him on as an apprentice as part of a school project. Two students from the Royal Academy of Culinaria Artisticus, an elite culinary school, cross paths with him at Covent Garden. A lowly orphaned baker hawks his savory pastries on the streets of London. Queen Charlotte, King George IV’s only child, sits on the throne.

My fine fellow jennieke cohen