The Greedy Queen

Eating with Victoria

Annie Gray

$34.99

Hardback

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English

Profile
28 June 2017

History; British & Irish history; Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900; Social & cultural history; Food & society

The 1745 Jacobite Rebellion was a turning point in British history.

When Charles Edward Stuart, commonly known as the Young Pretender, sailed from France to Bursting with original research, Annie Gray's first book sits down at the royal table and opens the kitchen door to tell the story of what Victoria ate, and how she changed English food forever.

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.

By: Annie Gray
Imprint: Profile
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: Main
Dimensions: Height: 222mm, Width: 144mm, Spine: 36mm
Weight: 570g
ISBN: 9781781256824
ISBN 10: 1781256829
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 28 June 2017
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Annie Gray is an historian, cook, broadcaster and writer specialising in the history of food and dining in Britain from around 1600 to the present day, conducting her research both in libraries and in kitchens. She has worked at Audley End amongst other historical kitchens, and gives lectures all over the country. She presents history documentaries including Victorian Bakers, and appears on BBC Radio 4's The Kitchen Cabinet. She lives in East Anglia.

Reviews for The Greedy Queen: Eating with Victoria

Had me at the first sentence -- Nigel Slater Zingy, fresh, and unexpected: Annie Gray, the queen of food historians, finds her perfect subject. A book to devour -- Lucy Worsley Annie Gray is a brilliant writer and scholar who brings a glorious combination of enthusiasm and greed to every subject she tackles. In the field of food history she leads the pack. -- Jay Rayner 'The best - and most popular - rooms in any National Trust property are always the kitchens. It is there, rather than the grand staterooms, that we are able to visualise what life was really like in the past. In The Greedy Queen Annie Gray replicates those kitchens in book form, conjuring up for her readers both the elaborate banquets and the quiet family dinners of Queen Victoria and her household. Never has history seemed quite as delicious as in these pages.' -- Judith Flanders I'm avid to tuck in. -- Rachel Cooke Guardian 2017 non-fiction picks