The greedy queen : eating with Victoria / Annie Gray.

  • Gray, Annie (Food historian)
Date:
2017
  • Books

About this work

Description

"In the 19th century, a revolution took place in how we ate - from the highest table in the land to the most humble. Annie Gray's book is both a biography of Britain's most iconic monarch, and a look at the changing nature of cooking and eating in the Victorian era. From her early years living on milk and bread under the Kensington system, to her constant indigestion and belligerent over-eating as an elderly woman, her diet will be examined, likes and dislikes charted, and the opinions of those around her considered. More than that, though, this book will take a proper look below stairs. Victoria was surrounded by servants, from ladies-in-waiting, to secretaries, dressers and coachmen. But there was another category of servant, more fundamental, and yet at the same time more completely hidden: her cooks. From her greed to her selfishness at the table, her indigestion and her absolute reliance on food as a lifelong companion, with her when so many others either died or were forced away by political factors, Victoria had a huge impact on the way we all eat today. Annie Gray gives us a new perspective on Britain's longest reigning monarch, viewing her through the one thing more dear to her than almost anything else: her stomach."--Publisher's description.

Publication/Creation

London : Profile Books, 2017.

Physical description

x, 390 pages, 8 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations (some colour) ; 22 cm

Bibliographic information

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Copyright Page; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgements; Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: Childhood; Chapter 3: Dining style; Chapter 4: Kitchens; Chapter 5: Cooks; Chapter 6: Private palaces; Chapter 7: Motherhood; Chapter 8: Ordinary eating; Chapter 9: Extraordinary eating; Chapter 10: The wider world of food; Chapter 11: The ageing Queen; Epilogue: how to end an age; Appendix: annotated and modernised recipes; Select bibliography; Notes; List of illustrations; Colour Plates; Index

Type/Technique

Languages

Where to find it

  • LocationStatus
    History of Medicine
    DFXP.41.AA8
    Open shelves

Permanent link

Identifiers

ISBN

  • 9781781256824
  • 1781256829