As well as telling great stories about complex characters, many novels are interested in the social questions and political changes of their time. As in the title of Anthony Trollope’s highly-acclaimed 1875 novel, such writers explore The Way We Live Now. Continue reading “The State of the Nation novel: part one”
Tag: Charles Dickens
Christmas Dinner
At this time of year I always write a festive-themed post for my blog. I’ve covered mince pies in Pride and Prejudice , Christmas cake in Jane Eyre, fudge in Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales and rice cake from D.H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers. Last year I broke away from the Western Christian tradition and opted for Hannukah doughnuts from Francesca Segal’s The Innocents.
But I have never written about Christmas dinner itself. So it’s time to remedy that. Continue reading “Christmas Dinner”
Good Friday baking
The bun is somewhat spicy inside, and has a sugary glaze on the top, with a cross marked or stamped thereon. Whether it is eaten hot or cold, with butter or without, toasted or untoasted, each family decides according to circumstances; (Charles Dickens, Household Words, 1870)
Last Good Friday I posted about hot cross buns – their historical origins and references to them in popular culture and literature. However, I wasn’t organised enough to write the post until Good Friday, by which time it seemed a little late to give the recipe as anyone reading the blog would certainly have already consumed their hot cross buns. Continue reading “Good Friday baking”
The Take-Away in Literature
It was a nice little dinner …being entirely furnished forth from the coffee-house
(Great Expectations, Charles Dickens)
Until I visited Pompeii – during a holiday on the Amalfi coast a few years ago – I had always assumed take-aways were a recent invention. But in the ancient Italian city devastated by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD, the streets were lined with thermopolia, service counters opening onto the street where people could buy food to take away. There were more than 200 of these in Pompeii, and the remains of houses show few traces of kitchen and dining areas, suggesting that cooking at home was unusual. Continue reading “The Take-Away in Literature”