The Language of Food Signed first edition.

Abbs, Annabel

ISBN 10: 1398502227 / ISBN 13: 9781398502222

Published by Simon & Schuster, London, 2022

About this Item

First edition. Signed by the author on the front free endpaper in a reversed-out white rectangle. Hardback. 399pp. Fore-edge decoration depicting a floral design with spoons and forks. Blue silk page marker. Dust jacket in a protective sleeve. When Eliza Acton is told by her publisher to write a cookery book instead of the poetry she loves, she refuses. But after her father is forced to flee the country, Eliza needs to earn a living. Despite never having cooked, she is determined to learn. She hires young, destitute Anne Kirby to help in the kitchen - and together they discover a mutual talent and passion for cooking and for recipe writing. But as Ann finds a voice of her own, their radical friendship begins to fray. Based on the true story of Eliza Acton, "The Language of Food" is a sumptuous feast of a novel about a woman who became a major influence on cookery writing in Britain. Elizabeth David described Acton's book as "my beloved companion" and Delia Smith calls her "the best cookery writer in the English language." The publisher's blurb calls Eliza Acton "Britain's first domestic goddess" - which is probably neither accurate nor appropriate - but this book is a very welcome celebration of a remarkable woman. Book as new and unread. Dust jacket as new and unclipped. Signed copy sticker to front.

Seller Inventory # 1308433

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Language of Food Signed first edition.
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster, London
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1398502227
• ISBN 13: 9781398502222
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Book Type: Book
• Seller catalogs:
  • Modern Fiction

About this title

Synopsis

'A sensual feast of a novel, written with elegance, beauty, charm and skill in a voice that is both lyrical and unique. The Language of Food is an intriguing story with characters that leap off the page and live, but what sets it apart from it's contemporaries is Abbs' outstanding prose' Santa Montefiore

Eliza Acton, despite having never before boiled an egg, became one of the world’s most successful cookery writers, revolutionizing cooking and cookbooks around the world. Her story is fascinating, uplifting and truly inspiring.

Told in alternate voices by the award-winning author of The Joyce Girl, and with recipes that leap to life from the page, The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs is the most thought-provoking and page-turning historical novel you’ll read this year, exploring the enduring struggle for female freedom, the power of female friendship, the creativity and quiet joy of cooking and the poetry of food, all while bringing Eliza Action out of the archives and back into the public eye.

England 1835. Eliza Acton is a poet who dreams of seeing her words in print. But when she takes her new manuscript to a publisher, she’s told that ‘poetry is not the business of a lady’. Instead, they want her to write a cookery book. That’s what readers really want from women. England is awash with exciting new ingredients, from spices to exotic fruits. But no one knows how to use them
 
Eliza leaves the offices appalled. But when her father is forced to flee the country for bankruptcy, she has no choice but to consider the proposal. Never having cooked before, she is determined to learn and to discover, if she can, the poetry in recipe writing. To assist her, she hires seventeen-year-old Ann Kirby, the impoverished daughter of a war-crippled father and a mother with dementia. 
 
Over the course of ten years, Eliza and Ann developed an unusual friendship – one that crossed social classes and divides – and, together, they broke the mould of traditional cookbooks and changed the course of cookery writing forever. 

About the Author

Annabel Abbs is the new rising star of biographical historical novels. She grew up in Bristol, Sussex and Wales before studying English Literature at the University of East Anglia and Marketing at the University of Kingston. Her debut novel The Joyce Girl was a Guardian Reader's Pick and her second novel Frieda: The Original Lady Chatterley earned critical acclaim including Times 2018 Book of the Year. She regularly appears on national and regional media, with recent appearances on Radio 4 Woman's Hour and Sky News, and is popular on the literary festival circuit. She was longlisted for the Bath Novel Award, the Caledonia Novel Award and the Waverton GoodRead Award. Annabel lives in London with her husband and four children.