Cooking with Jane Austen (Feasting with Fiction) [Hardcover]

Kirstin Olsen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0313334633 | ISBN-13: 978-0313334634

One of the greatest writers of all time, Jane Austen drew upon her domestic culture to color her works. Included in this book are more than 200 recipes for the many, many meals she alludes to throughout her writings. Recipes appear in modernized form, along with quotations from Austen's writings and excerpts from cookbooks of her era. Sure to entertain her numerous fans, the volume provides readers with recipes for such dishes as fried beef steaks, broiled mutton chops, roast pork loin, buttered crab or lobster, Stilton cheese, syrup of mulberries, almond pudding, French bread, mushroom ketchup, and many others.

The book begins with some introductory chapters on cooking and eating in Austen's world. It then presents chapters on broad categories of food, such as beef and veal, seafood, pastries and sweets, and beverages. Each chapter includes extracts from Austen's works and from cookbooks of her period, accompanied by easy-to-follow modernized recipes. The volume closes with some sample menus; glossaries of ingredients, sources, and special tools; and a bibliography of period cookbooks and modern studies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[D]eals with the food culture of Austen's times and adapts recipes for such dishes as stewed cucumbers, pigeons in a ragout of crawfish, and the sinister-sounding liver and crow."

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Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin

"Cooking with Jane Austen….[s]hows how Austen drew upon her domestic experience to color her works. Readers of Austen know food is central to her novels: Cooking with Jane Austen packs in not only recipes for the dishes featured in her works, but discusses their background, appearance in her writings, and importance to her times. A compelling, unique coverage."

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Midwest Book Review

"Anyone who believes the maxim you are what you eat might expect Austen's diet to have consisted only of tart foods, but this volume, which is full of recipes for roasted meats, puddings and pies, proves otherwise. The text begins with introductory chapters on cooking and eating in Austen's time, and then provides recipes referenced in Austen's novels or popular in her day. Each chapter and recipe includes extracts from Austen's works and from cookbooks of the period, accompanied by modernized recipes."

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Reference & Research Book News

"A must have for schools and libraries where Austen or the Regency period is part of the curriculum."

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VOYA

"Altogether 23 … menus are given, and great fun they are too… for the many people who are interested in both Jane Austen and cookery [the book] can be enjoyable and instructive to dip into."

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The Jane Austen Society News Letter

"[A]n enticing account of the entire gastronomic spectrum … The book is a must… For the recipes, each section is given a light historic note, then a personal angle from one of Austen's characters, then each recipe is prefaced by an irresistible quotation from a novel or letter. It is the choice of these excerpts which gives the book its charm, and makes it a sheer delight."

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JASA Chronicle

Book Description

Discusses cooking in Jane Austen's England and provides more than 200 period and modernized recipes.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313334633
• ISBN-13: 978-0313334634
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,109,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical Cooking Buffs, May 28, 2010

By 

Literary Mama (Montclair, NJ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cooking with Jane Austen (Feasting with Fiction) (Hardcover)

I love history, I love Jane Austen, and I love to cook. This is one of my favorite books to read before I bed...yes I like to read cookbooks as a past time. There's is so much information behind the discovery of each recipe. The author presents the historical context, the availability of ingredients and even relates it to Austen's novels....This book is a real jewel.

3.0 out of 5 stars Great book; poorly bound, January 15, 2012

By 

Mary Linda "Mary Linda" (LA, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cooking with Jane Austen (Feasting with Fiction) (Hardcover)

I have ordered this book twice and returned it twice. From what little I read, it is a fascinating book and well written. I look forward to reading it completely one day. The problem lies in the way the books are bound. They were hardback and very tightly bound. You had to firmly press open the book in order to read the text, which on many pages ran toward the center of the book. It was hard to hold it open and you had to adjust it to read the complete page since it was too close to the crease. A few pages into the introduction, which I was enjoying, I had to put the book down to let my hands rest. And before you ask, I'm not old or arthritic! This is the first time I've had such a situation with a book and this is a rare review for me. I just wanted readers to be aware, since this is not an inexpensive book. I'd give the content 4 or 5 stars (based on what little I read) and the book itself 1 star. I hope one day it will be reprinted or be available on Kindle.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book!!!!, March 26, 2011

By 

Brian - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cooking with Jane Austen (Feasting with Fiction) (Hardcover)

Really excited to get the book. Loved every page. If you like cooking, culinary history and especially Jane Austen this is the book for you.