English Food
A People’s History
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English Food
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Narrated by:
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Sarah Kants
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By:
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Diane Purkiss
About this listen
‘An absolute gem’ Sunday Times ‘A mouthwatering history’ The Guardian
In this delicious history of Britain’s food traditions, Diane Purkiss invites readers on a unique journey through the centuries, exploring the development of recipes and rituals for mealtimes such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner, to show how food has been both a reflection of and inspiration for social continuity and change.
Purkiss uses the story of food as a revelatory device to chart changing views on class, gender, and tradition through the ages. Sprinkled throughout with glorious details of historical quirks – trial by ordeal of bread, a fondness for ‘small beer’ and a war-time ice-cream substitute called ‘hokey pokey’ made from parsnips – this book is both an education and an entertainment.
English Food explores the development of the coffee trade and the birth of London’s coffee houses, where views were exchanged on politics, art, and literature. Purkiss introduces the first breeders of British beef and reveals how cattle triggered the terrible Glencoe Massacre. We are taken for tea, to the icehouse, the pantry, and the beehive. We learn that toast is as English as the chalk cliffs. We bite into chicken, plainly poached or exotically spiced. We join bacon curers and fishermen at work. We follow the scent of apples into ancient orchards.
A rich and indulgent history, English Food will change the way you view your food and understand your past.
The table is set, have a seat, and tuck in.
©2022 Diane Purkiss (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
‘An absolute gem… English Food is a fabulous read. I devoured it with gusto… My review copy will find a permanent place on my bookshelves… a richly entertaining and enlightening social history of England… Superb’ Sunday Times, Christopher Hart
‘Every page brings astonishing revelation… acerbic, witty, opinionated and devoid of pomposity… This book is about food, but it’s more importantly about how food defines us’ The Times, Gerald DeGroot
‘A mouthwatering history… A sumptuous survey of English cuisine leaves no morsel untasted… liberally seasoned throughout with literary references, from Anglo-Saxon poetry to Michael Ondaatje… fascinating… There’s an awful lot of good stuff to get your teeth into here’ The Guardian, Felicity Cloake
‘What a delectable banquet of a book this is… This magnificently readable and engaging book (which is also very generously illustrated) sets the record straight and should whet appetites for the attentive, seasonal cooking and gamier flavours of the past’ Literary Review
‘[A] fantastic book’ Evening Standard
‘A remarkable book, scholarly, entertaining and fascinating. Purkiss is extraordinarily well read, articulate, and writes beautifully. She goes under the skirts of convention to strip bare the many presumptions that surround what we eat and why. Mandatory reading for anyone involved, however peripherally, in food and what we now refer to as the food chain. Simply a brilliant work’
The Guild of Food Writers Food Book Award judges
What listeners say about English Food
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Liz
- 22-09-24
rather long + a bit of a slog to finish...
...but some interesting info along the way. the narrator was ok, but more variance in her tone would have helped in the slow bits. it felt like she was bored too. unfortunate. but overall, it might make a better physical book, so you could dip in and out
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- z.waters
- 27-03-23
English Food
Fascinating… absorbing book .. but the most awful narration … grinding painful inept… at times incomprehensible … had an echo of listening to an early reader … understandably nervous of an audience
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nic W.
- 15-04-23
it's a good book but...
the narrator's voice was too much for me, especially (but not exclusively) the way she says pudding as if she's pinging a rubber band. shame because the subject of the book is interesting. some of the long lists are a bit much, I tended to drift off a bit during those as did I in the reading of every single ingredient and methodology of every single pie or pudding of note.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lucas Justinian
- 25-03-24
An interesting, sad and hopeful book
Lots to think about with this one. We all think sometimes that we want to eat like they did in the past, but do we? Can we? I’ve listened to this one a couple of times through and get something new out of it each time.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Simon Chipperfield
- 01-02-23
Ok I suppose
The author for some reason keeps throwing in various quotes from various writers that seem a little out of place, Also wow doesn't like the writing of Elizabeth David who appears to be the devil. The author is obviously a historian and comes across as hugely knowledgeable (as you would expect a tutor at a oxford college to be but the food knowledge seems limited, lots of historical name dropping in every other sentence Certainly not a Clarissa Dickson write.
A ok listen but I'm glad I listened not read. Maybe just not for me
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2 people found this helpful