Dinner with Dickens: Recipes Inspired by the Life and Work of Charles Dickens

(Hardback)

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Recipes and menus from the novels and the household of Charles Dickens, one of the world's favourite authors.

Dinner with Dickenscelebrates the food of Victorian England by recreating dishes the author wrote about with such gusto, and enjoyed in real life. Food in the novels not only creates character and comedy, but is also a means of highlighting social issues. A grand wedding breakfast skewers ostentation in a wealthy household. A bread-and-butter tea conjures honesty and companionship. The gruel given to hungry children exposes a cruel and unjust regime.

The characters who throng Dickens novels are forever offering one another punch or seed biscuits; arranging a nice little supper of pickled salmon, salad and tea; showing concern with a roast fowl; or sisterly love with a painstakingly made beefsteak pudding. And, of course, there is the great feast of Christmas, celebrated in glorious style even by the impoverished Cratchits. At home, Dickens wife Catherine helped him entertain, and published (under a pseudonym) her own book,What Shall We Have for Dinner, with pages of menus or bills of fare for different sizes of party and the changing seasons.

InDinner with Dickens, Pen Vogler has fully updated recipes from contemporary Victorian cookbooks, including Catherines own book. Clear instructions enable you to recreate mutton stuffed with oysters, Betsey Prigs Twopenny Salad, Dickens own recipe for punch and the Dickens familys Twelfth Cake. In addition there are features on topics such as Dickens Abroad, Shopping for Food and Eating Out, with fascinating insights into housekeeping, entertaining and social history.

Author Bio

Pen Vogler is a food historian and author ofDinner with Mr Darcy and Tea with Jane Austen, both published by CICO Books. She writes and reviews on food history for the press, edited Penguins Great Food series, and has recreated recipes from the past for BBC television. Pen lives in north London.