Brillat-Savarin: The Judge and His Stomach

(Paperback)

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Description

No one seriously interested in food need be reminded that Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin is the father of gastronomy, or that his book La Physiologie du got, published in 1825 and never since out of print, is gastronomy's first great classic. Giles MacDonogh's book is likewise a first: the only full and authoritative biography of Brillat. Far from being just a gastronome, during perhaps the most interesting period of French history Brillat was also a lawyer, politician, emigr in flight from the guillotine, teacher of French in New York, first violin, hunter, secretary to the general staff of the French revolutionary army, judge, lover, and pornographer. Besides Brillat's life, Mr. MacDonogh presents a fascinating picture of provincial France under the ancien rgime and the dangerous years that followed its fall. His remarkable book adds greatly to our knowledge both of the art of cookery in a heroic age of gourmandise and of French life at its gamiest.

Reviews

An engaging and well-researched biography...Brillat-Savarin emerges as an enormously likeable man. -- Christina Hardyment * Independent *
MacDonogh explores with elegance and scholarship the world of revolutionaries and gourmets. -- Robin Smyth * Observer *
Highly readable...a convincing portrait of this marvelous hedonist. -- Bruce Palling * Country Life *
An excellent, absorbing, and very amusing book. -- Jennifer Patterson * Literary Review *

Author Bio

Giles MacDonogh was educated at Oxford and at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Practiques in Paris. He is recognized for his writings on wine and food, and for his book A Palate in Revolution. He lives in London.