Waterstones The Greedy Queen
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Price: £12.99
Brand: Waterstones
Description: From Dr Annie Gray, presenter of BBC2's Victorian Bakers What does it mean to eat like a queen? Elizabeth gorged on sugar, Mary on chocolate and Anne was known as 'Brandy Nan'. Victoria ate all of this and more. The Greedy Queen celebrates Victoria's appetite, both for food and, indeed, for life. Born in May 1819, Victoria came 'as plump as a partridge'. In her early years she lived on milk and bread under the Kensington system; in her old age she suffered constant indigestion yet continued to over-eat. From intimate breakfasts with the King of France, to romping at tea-parties with her children, and from state balls to her last sip of milk, her life is examined through what she ate, when and with whom. In the royal household, Victoria was surrounded by ladies-in-waiting, secretaries, dressers and coachmen, but below stairs there was another category of servant: her cooks. More fundamental and yet completely hidden, they are now uncovered in their working environment for the first time. Voracious and adventurous in her tastes, Queen Victoria was head of state during a revolution in how we ate - from the highest tables to the most humble. Bursting with original research, The Greedy Queen considers Britain's most iconic monarch from a new perspective, telling the story of British food along the way.
Category: Books
Merchant: Waterstones
Product ID: 9781781256831
Delivery cost: 2.99
ISBN: 9781781256831
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Author: M. Dowden
Rating: 5
Review: The lovely Annie Gray, who most of us have seen on TV documentaries, and heard narrating the animated food history clips on the Beeb’s site gives us here a book that is really very interesting, and all based on food served at royal palaces and elsewhere for Queen Victoria. Taking us from Victoria’s birth through to her death this book is full of information and is well researched. For a princess, and thus at the top of the aristocracy for the baby Victoria she was surprisingly breast fed by her mother, something which at the time was more prevalent to the working classes. Thus we are given here a good biography of the Queen herself, and her life whilst also bringing in an economic and socio-historical context so we can see how the royals of the time compare not only to today, but also the way food was prepared and served at the time. As we can see there was of course magnificent banquets put on for state visits, weddings and such like, but the Queen and her family did not eat quite like that the rest of the time, although we all know that Victoria enjoyed her food. With insights into royal residences, along with the dynamics of the family and servants, ministers, and others so this reminds us that there were problems as with all families and relationships. Giving us a very good insight into the foods that were placed on the Monarch’s table, so we can see where certain dishes have seemed to have fallen from favour in our more modern world, after all how often do you still hear of people speaking about eating rabbit or mutton? I must admit that I do like both, although not having had either for some time. This really is a good read and will probably be enjoyed by many, and there are notes, a bibliography and all the other things you would expect from a book such as this. There are also recipes here, which there is more information on in the notes, and also with the kindle version do not stop reading this book after the main text, because in with the various pieces at the back are also photos and illustrations.
Author: Eric Schallenberg
Rating: 4
Review: The book's title is a slight exaggeration: although it's true that the royal dinner was lavish and replete with side-dishes, it is not as if Queen Victoria threw herself at every dish in sight and stuffed herself to bursting point. But we get a good idea of what upper-class and stately dinners looked like and there's even a number of recipes for those who want to relive the good old days - but be prepared for a lot of trial and error, as the recipes are not exactly beginner-friendly. The scope of the book is of course limited and I would not recommend it to people not interested in the history of cooking and food display in the mid-1900th century. But if you are, this is a fun little book
