A History of English Food, Clarissa Dickson Wright
A History of English Food, Clarissa Dickson Wright
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A History of English Food

Author: Clarissa Dickson Wright

Narrator: Clarissa Dickson Wright

Unabridged: 14 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: RH AudioGo

Published: 04/12/2012


Synopsis

In this major new history of English food, Clarissa Dickson Wright takes the reader on a journey from the time of the Second Crusade and the feasts of medieval kings to the cuisine - both good and bad - of the present day. She looks at the shifting influences on the national diet as new ideas and ingredients have arrived, and as immigrant communities have made their contribution to the life of the country. She evokes lost worlds of open fires and ice houses, of constant pickling and preserving, and of manchet loaves and curly-coated pigs. And she tells the stories of the chefs, cookery book writers, gourmets and gluttons who have shaped public taste, from the salad-loving Catherine or Aragon to the foodies of today. Above all, she gives a vivid sense of what it was like to sit down to the meals of previous ages, whether an eighteenth-century labourer's breakfast or a twelve-course Victorian banquet or a lunch out during the Second World War.

Insightful and entertaining by turns, this is a magnificent tour of nearly a thousand years of English cuisine, peppered with surprises and seasoned with Clarissa Dickson Wright's characteristic wit.

About Clarissa Dickson Wright

Clarissa Dickson Wright found fame alongside Jennifer Paterson as one half of the much-loved TV cooking partnership Two Fat Ladies. She is the author of the bestselling memoir Spilling the Beans as well as many cookery books including The Game Cookbook and, most recently, Potty - her one-pot cookbook. She is also a passionate supporter of the Countryside Alliance and of rural life. She lives a little in London but mostly in Scotland.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Julie on July 08, 2015

I really enjoy Clarissa Dickson Wright's take on history seen through the focus of food. There's just the right amount of Wright's personality included because she will occasionally break in and comment about ancient recipes she's tried or her thoughts on a particular practice. It is sprinkled with......more

Goodreads review by Eustacia on August 11, 2019

I might have mentioned this before, but I’m harnessing my current momentum/desire to read books about or inspired by the history of the UK to make a dent in my TBR list and A History of English Food was one of these books. (I have this very bad habit where I’ll put a book on my TBR list and then whe......more

Goodreads review by Catullus2 on May 21, 2018

A fun romp through English food.......more

Goodreads review by Stephanie on September 13, 2013

'A History of English Food' is a well-written and interesting look at the development of English food from the medieval period to the present day. Aimed at the general reader, it provides fun little historical facts, recipes and menus from a variety of eras, combined with the memories and recollecti......more

Goodreads review by Elizabeth on October 22, 2011

My Mum bought this book for me -- it's really a fascinating read, even if you're not a cooking maniac. I like the author (from seeing her on various TV shows) and she has a great voice when writing. The book's very engaging - she links history and social things excellently with the food history and......more


Quotes

This is a marvellous read ... [Clarissa Dickson Wright's] skill is to make food, even 800 years ago, seem relevant and amusing today Country Life

Magnificently eccentric and robustly informative ... an impressive tour of the horizon of a well-stocked mind ... [a] glorious sense of the continuity of English cuisine from the Middle Ages to the present shines from every page of this engaging, funny and admirably entertaining history Sunday Telegraph

A learned, serious tome, packed with information and history Guardian

Combining her two great passions of food and history, she takes us on a chatty and fascinating crawl
from Medieval times when pigeons, eels and nettles were staples, to the pizzas, baked beans and chips of today ... consistently entertaining and informative Daily Mail

‘one of the most entertaining and fascinating audiobooks that I have ever heard.’ The Times