In my last post I wrote about food celebrations for the Queen’s coronation in Kate Atkinson’s Behind the Scenes at the Museum. This post carries on the royal theme, but with a focus on what the monarch eats. Continue reading “Food fit for a king”
Category: 21st century fiction
Food in the historical novel
Since I started this blog more than five years ago, I’ve discovered how much literature can tell us about the food preferences and practices of a particular society or culture. Continue reading “Food in the historical novel”
Hannukah doughnuts
The door of the flat was open. Dan had made whiskey-laced hot apple cider, which he was distributing in red plastic pint glasses. Willa circulated behind him, her blonde hair hidden beneath a red felt Santa hat, offering Chanuka doughnuts. (Francesca Segal, The Innocents) Continue reading “Hannukah doughnuts”
Life after Life 7: Marmalade Cake
‘What happened to you?’ Maurice said to Ursula one afternoon as he sprawled on a deckchair on the lawn reading Punch, cramming nearly an entire slice of Mrs Glover’s marmalade cake into his mouth at once.
‘What do you mean what happened to me?’
‘You’ve turned into a heifer.’ (May 1926, page 230)
In these posts on food in Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life, Mrs Glover’s cooking has been presented as often falling short of expectations. Her Sole Veronique – discussed here – is described as a ‘surprisingly capricious interpretation‘ of the classic French dish whilst her Veal cutlets a la Russe – from my last post – are dismissed as ‘unappetizing‘ and ‘like the dog’s dinner‘. Clearly sophisticated continental cooking is not her forte. Continue reading “Life after Life 7: Marmalade Cake”