Savory Suppers and Fashionable Feasts: Dining in Victorian America [Hardcover]

Susan Williams (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1ST edition (December 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0318231298
• ISBN-13: 978-0318231297
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,702,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting!, May 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Savory Suppers And Fashionable Feasts: Dining Victorian America (Paperback)

I recently needed to help someone plan a formal tea party. Off I went to my collection of books on cookery. I had such a hard time putting it back. Of course, planning the menu for my friend was secondary. Each page is a delightful taste of time past by yet, helpful in gathering those cherished gifts from Victorian dining to add pleasure to our meals of the 90"s. Enjoy!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Orange cups? Sardine servers? Read on . . ., October 12, 2005

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Savory Suppers And Fashionable Feasts: Dining Victorian America (Paperback)

I have a longstanding interest in what might be called "domestic social history" of the 19th century -- how American and British households operated, what they ate and how, what were considered good manners, clothing customs, the functioning of the "servant class," and all of that. The author of this excellent work is Curator of Household Accessories and Tablewares at the Strong Museum in Rochester, one of the leading Victoriana museums in this country, and she certainly knows her subject. Per the title, she concentrates on the kitchen and dining room (with short excursions into the garden for tea and into city restaurants for special occasions), explaining where customs like placemats originated, detailing the astonishing amount of china and silverware thought necessary in a proper middle-class home, and analyzing the evolution of table manners over a period of three generations. Period illustrations are plentiful, as are quotations from 19th century sources (the bibliography runs to six pages) and menus from the social pages of the newspapers. There's also a lengthy collection of recipes of the time. If you want to pick up on what William Dean Howells was really talking about, read this book.