Wedding Cakes and Cultural History [Paperback]

Simon Charsley (Author), Simon R. Charsley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 1992 | ISBN-10: 0415026490 | ISBN-13: 978-0415026499 | Edition: 1

The wedding cake is one of the most extraordinary of the familiar objects of the Western world. In this unique contribution to the anthropology of food, Simon Charsley traces its fascinating history, from late medieval feasts and rites, through the Victorian wedding breakfast and into the present. He shows that the wedding cake provides a vivid illustration of the traditions and traditional values inherent in all food and demonstrates the part that material culture plays in the process of change. This book should be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates and academics in the fields of anthropology, cultural history and sociology.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"The earliest recipe recorded fromsic Britain for a dish specifically for a wedding is in fact a pie," writes Charsley, an anthropologist at the University of Glasgow. The wedding cake as we know it today--with its successively smaller layers, supporting pillars, fancy frosting and festoons--had its origins some hundred years later, in a confection that commemorated the marriage of one of Queen Victoria's daughters in 1859. Even then, a few refinements were missing: only the base tier was actually cake (the rest were pure sugar), and the layers were stacked like hat boxes. It would take the wedding of Prince Leopold in 1882 before guests could enjoy an entirely "cake" wedding cake, and another 20 years before the tiers were separated by columns (usually disguised pieces of a broom handle). There are many shrewd observations here, particularly those that link the evolving elaborateness of the wedding cakes to the growing commercialization of private ceremonies (most Victorian amateur bakers lacked the engineering skill to keep the higher layers from sinking into the lower ones). Charsley is also enlightening on the way the ritual of cake-cutting reflects the changing role of women in marriage. But general readers should be warned: Wedding Cakes is not a novelty item or gift book. Although Charsley's writing is relatively free of jargon, his book is clearly aimed at an academic audience; there is thorough documentation of such minutiae as flour proportion and the development of icing, and even the most intellectually inclined gourmands may quickly find that they have bitten off more than they can--or care to--chew.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

There are many shrewd observations here, particularly those that link the evolving elaborateness of the wedding cakes to the growing commercialization of private ceremonies . . . Charsley is also enlightening on the way the ritual of cake-cutting reflects the changing role of women in marriage.
–Publishers Weekly --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (June 5, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415026490
• ISBN-13: 978-0415026499
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,546,159 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Theory of Cake, August 6, 2007

By 

Debbie G Pettigrew "Rasputin" (Christchurch New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wedding Cakes and Cultural History (Paperback)

Not what I expected. Quite interesting in a school lecturely kind of way, but not an easy read.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars ??, November 13, 2007

By 

Tandoori (NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wedding Cakes and Cultural History (Library Binding)

How do you expect us to spend 120$ on a cake book that does not show a single picture of the cakes that are in it?!

Revisited: Finally somebody did something smart and added " Look inside". Thank you!

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating, July 19, 2000

By 

Mary Paster (Hilliard, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wedding Cakes and Cultural History (Paperback)

Charsley's treatment of wedding cakes is an interesting historical and social study. Feminists in particular will be intrigued and outraged by the symbolism that has gone into making the tradition of the wedding cake (particularly the cutting of the cake) what it is today. This book made me think about weddings in a whole new way.