Elizabeth David Popular Books
Elizabeth David Biography & Facts
Elizabeth David (born Elizabeth Gwynne, 26 December 1913 – 22 May 1992) was a British cookery writer. In the mid-20th century she strongly influenced the revitalisation of home cookery in her native country and beyond with articles and books about European cuisines and traditional British dishes. Born to an upper-class family, David rebelled against social norms of the day. In the 1930s she studied art in Paris, became an actress, and ran off with a married man with whom she sailed in a small boat to Italy, where their boat was confiscated. They reached Greece, where they were nearly trapped by the German invasion in 1941, but escaped to Egypt, where they parted. She then worked for the British government, running a library in Cairo. While there she married, but she and her husband separated soon after and subsequently divorced. In 1946 David returned to England, where food rationing imposed during the Second World War remained in force. Dismayed by the contrast between the bad food served in Britain and the simple, excellent food to which she had become accustomed in France, Greece and Egypt, she began to write magazine articles about Mediterranean cooking. They attracted favourable attention, and in 1950, at the age of 36, she published A Book of Mediterranean Food. Her recipes called for ingredients such as aubergines, basil, figs, garlic, olive oil and saffron, which at the time were scarcely available in Britain. Books on French, Italian and, later, English cuisine followed. By the 1960s David was a major influence on British cooking. She was deeply hostile to anything second-rate, to over-elaborate cooking, and bogus substitutes for classic dishes and ingredients. In 1965 she opened a shop selling kitchen equipment, which continued to trade under her name after she left it in 1973. David's reputation rests on her articles and her books, which have been continually reprinted. Between 1950 and 1984 she published eight books; after her death her literary executor completed a further four that she had planned and worked on. David's influence on British cooking extended to professional as well as domestic cooks, and chefs and restaurateurs of later generations such as Terence Conran, Simon Hopkinson, Prue Leith, Jamie Oliver, Tom Parker Bowles and Rick Stein have acknowledged her importance to them. In the US, cooks and writers including Julia Child, Richard Olney and Alice Waters have written of her influence. Life and career Early years David was born Elizabeth Gwynne, the second of four children, all daughters, of Rupert Sackville Gwynne and his wife, the Hon Stella Gwynne, daughter of the 1st Viscount Ridley. Both parents' families had considerable fortunes, the Gwynnes from engineering and land speculation and the Ridleys from coal mining. Through the two families, David was of English, Scottish and Welsh or Irish descent and, through an ancestor on her father's side, also Dutch and Sumatran. She and her sisters grew up at Wootton Manor in Sussex, a seventeenth-century manor house with extensive, early twentieth-century additions by Detmar Blow. Her father, despite having a weak heart, insisted on pursuing a demanding political career, becoming Conservative MP for Eastbourne, and a junior minister in Bonar Law's government. Overwork, combined with his vigorous recreational pastimes, chiefly racing, riding, and womanising, brought about his death in 1924, aged 51. The widowed Stella Gwynne was a dutiful mother, but her relations with her daughters were distant rather than affectionate. Elizabeth and her sisters, Priscilla, Diana and Felicité were sent away to boarding schools. Having been a pupil at Godstowe preparatory school in High Wycombe, Elizabeth was sent to St Clare's Private School for Ladies, Tunbridge Wells, which she left at the age of sixteen. The girls grew up knowing nothing of cooking, which in upper-class households of the time was the exclusive province of the family's cook and her kitchen staff. As a teenager David enjoyed painting, and her mother thought her talent worth developing. In 1930 she was sent to Paris, where she studied painting privately and enrolled at the Sorbonne for a course in French civilisation which covered history, literature and architecture. She found her Sorbonne studies arduous and in many ways uninspiring, but they left her with a love of French literature and a fluency in the language that remained with her throughout her life. She lodged with a Parisian family, whose fanatical devotion to the pleasures of the table she portrayed to comic effect in her French Provincial Cooking (1960). Nevertheless, she acknowledged in retrospect that the experience had been the most valuable part of her time in Paris: "I realized in what way the family had fulfilled their task of instilling French culture into at least one of their British charges. Forgotten were the Sorbonne professors. ... What had stuck was the taste for a kind of food quite ideally unlike anything I had known before." Stella Gwynne was not eager for her daughter's early return to England after qualifying for her Sorbonne diploma, and sent her from Paris to Munich in 1931 to study German. Actress After returning to England in 1932 David unenthusiastically went through the social rituals for upper-class young women of presentation at court as a débutante and the associated balls. The respectable young Englishmen she met at the latter did not appeal to her. David's biographer Lisa Chaney comments that with her "delicately smouldering looks and her shyness shielded by a steely coolness and barbed tongue" she would have been a daunting prospect for the young upper-class men she encountered. David decided that she was not good enough as a painter and, to her mother's displeasure, became an actress. She joined J. B. Fagan's company at the Oxford Playhouse in 1933. Her fellow performers included Joan Hickson, who decades later recalled having to show her new colleague how to make a cup of tea, so unaware of the kitchen was David in those days. From Oxford, David moved to the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park, London, the following year. She rented rooms in a large house near the park, spent a generous 21st birthday present on equipping the kitchen, and learned to cook. A gift from her mother of The Gentle Art of Cookery by Hilda Leyel was her first cookery book. She later wrote, "I wonder if I would have ever learned to cook at all if I had been given a routine Mrs Beeton to learn from, instead of the romantic Mrs Leyel with her rather wild, imagination-catching recipes." At Regent's Park David made little professional progress. The company was distinguished, headed by Nigel Playfair and Jack Hawkins, and, in the leading female roles, Anna Neagle and Margaretta Scott. David was restricted to bit parts. Among her colleagues in the company was an actor nine years her senior, Charles Gibson Cowan. His disregard for social conventions appealed strongly to her, .... Discover the Elizabeth David popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Elizabeth David books.
Best Seller Elizabeth David Books of 2024
-
The Never-Ending Summer
Emma Kennedy'Emma Kennedy's books are as funny, warm and lifeinspiring as she is' Jenny Colgan'An excellent read. I loved all the characters' Claudia Winkleman'A warm, funny and truly lifeaffi...
-
Two Kitchens
Rachel Roddy'YOU'LL WANT TO COOK IT ALL' Evening Standard'Rachel Roddy's writing is as absorbing as any novel. Her prose is so elegant and her storytelling so compelling that I almost forgot...
-
Eden in Winter
Richard North PattersonTwo months after the suspicious and muchpublicized death of his father on the island of Martha's Vineyard, it is taking all of Adam Blaine's character to suture the deep wounds bo...
-
The Choice
Edith Eva EgerA New York Times Bestseller“I’ll be forever changed by Dr. Eger’s story…The Choice is a reminder of what courage looks like in the worst of times and that we all have the ability t...
-
Together
Julie CohenRICHARD AND JUDY SUMMER BOOK CLUB PICK 2018'This big, clever, tender and twisty love story reminded me of One Day & The Time Traveler's Wife' Erin Kelly, author of He Said, She...
-
An Apology for Raymond Sebond
Michel MontaigneAn Apology for Raymond Sebond is widely regarded as the greatest of Montaigne's essays: a supremely eloquent expression of Christian scepticism. An empassioned defence of Sebond's ...
-
Old Venus
George R.R. Martin & Gardner DozoisSixteen allnew stories by science fiction’s top talents, collected by bestselling author George R. R. Martin and multipleawardwinning editor Gardner Dozois From pulp adventu...
-
Diana
Andrew MortonThe sensational biography of Princess Diana, written with her cooperation and now featuring exclusive new material to commemorate the 20th anniversary of her death.When Diana: Her ...
-
Six Wives
David Starkey“Extraordinary. . . . It is a tribute to Starkey’s narrative drive, his puckish wit, and sharp discrimination that it doesn’t seem a page too long. . . . With each queen, Starkey o...
-
Letters from the Afterlife
Elsa BarkerDoes life go on beyond the grave? A growing body of evidence suggests that it does. Written through the hand of Elsa Barker, an established author in her own right, Letters from th...
-
More Than You Can Say
Paul TordayThe bestselling author of SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN returns with a Buchanesque thriller.'Torday has an extraordinary gift for making apparent "normality" look sinister and strang...
-
Flight or Fright
Stephen King#1 New York Times bestselling author and master of horror Stephen King teams up with Bev Vincent of Cemetery Dance to present a terrifying collection of sixteen short stories (and ...
-
The Other Queen
Philippa GregoryFrom #1 New York Times bestselling author and “queen of royal fiction” (USA TODAY) Philippa Gregorya dazzling new novel about the intriguing, romantic, and maddening Mary, Queen of...
-
The Power of Trust
Sandra J. Sucher & Shalene GuptaA groundbreaking exploration of the changing nature of trust and how to bridge the gap from where you are to where you need to be. Trust is the most powerful force underlying...
-
Wisdom of the Last Farmer
David Mas MasumotoIt was when David Mas Masumoto's father had a stroke on the sprawling fields of their farm that the son looked with new eyes on the land where he and generations of his family have...
-
The Matter of Black Lives
Jelani Cobb & David RemnickA collection of The New Yorker‘s groundbreaking writing on race in Americaincluding work by James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, TaNehisi Coates, Hilton Als, Zadie Smith, and morewit...
-
Sir Francis Drake
Dr John SugdenHow well do you know the life of one of Britain’s great maritime heroes? Discover the truth behind a man who remains a legendary figure of history more than four hundred years afte...
-
Here Be Monsters
Anthony PriceBy the CWA Gold Dagger awardwinning author of Other Paths to GloryWhen exMajor Ed Parker of the US Army is pushed over a cliff at Pointe du Hoc following the DDay anniversary, a cr...
-
Alfred the Great
Asser, Simon Keynes & Michael LapidgeAsser's Life of King Alfred, written in 893, is a revealing account of one of the greatest of medieval kings. Composed by a monk of St David's in Wales who became Bishop of Sherbor...
-
Daughter of Empire
Pamela Hicks“Lady Pamela Hicks’s joyously entertaining new memoir, arguably the poshest book that ever has or will be written” (Newsweek), is a privileged glimpse into the lives and loves of s...
-
Finding Meaning
David KesslerIn this groundbreaking and “poignant” (Los Angeles Times) book, David Kesslerpraised for his work by Maria Shriver, Marianne Williamson, and Mother Teresajourneys beyond the classi...
-
The World According to Anna
Jostein Gaarder & Donald BartlettWhen fifteenyearold Anna begins receiving messages from another time, her parents take her to the doctor. But he can find nothing wrong; in fact he believes there may be some truth...
-
The River Cafe Classic Italian Cookbook
Rose Gray & Ruth RogersThirty years after its doors first opened, The River Café remains one of London's most iconic restaurants, loved for its innovative Italian food. Pioneering chefs Rose Gray and Rut...
-
The Orange Girl
Jostein GaarderFrom the author of SOPHIE'S WORLD, a modern fairy tale with a philosophical twist.'It should be read by all' VOGUE'My father died eleven years ago. I was only four then. I never th...
-
French Provincial Cooking
Elizabeth David & Juliet RennyFirst published in 1962, Elizabeth David's culinary odyssey through provincial France forever changed the way we think about food. With elegant simplicity, David explores the authe...
-
On Grief and Grieving
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross & David KesslerA modern classic text on the crucial role of grieving in dealing with loss, by the author who first explored the now famous five stages of griefOn Grief and Grieving is an invaluab...
-
Infinite Stars
Bryan Thomas Schmidt, David Weber, Brian Herbert, Elizabeth Moon & Orson Scott CardThe seductive thrill of uncharted worlds, of distant galaxies… and the unknown threats that lurk in the vastness of the cosmos. From Foundation to Lensman, Star Wars to Guardians o...
-
The Lost
Mari Hannah'Nobody understands the many faces of cops better than Mari Hannah.' Val McDermid'Mari Hannah writes with a sharp eye and a dark heart.' Peter James'Thrilling, exciting and kept me...
-
After Cooling
Eric Dean WilsonThis “ambitious [and] delightful” (The New York Times) work of literary nonfiction interweaves the science and history of the powerful refrigerant (and dangerous greenhouse gas) Fr...
-
Making History
Richard CohenA “supremely entertaining” (The New Yorker) exploration of who gets to record the world’s historyfrom Julius Caesar to William Shakespeare to Ken Burnsand how their biases influenc...
-
The Fragile Earth
David Remnick & Henry FinderA New York Times New & Noteworthy BookOne of the Daily Beast’s 5 Essential Books to Read Before the ElectionA collection of the New Yorker’s groundbreaking repor...
-
Great Expectations
Charles Dickens & Charlotte Mitchell'His novels will endure as long as the language itself' Peter AckroydDickens's haunting late novel depicts the education and development of a young man, Pip, as his life is changed...
-
Hms Inflexible
A E Langsford1945. The battle against Japan in the Pacific is reaching its climax. One way or another, Inflexible will be Captain Thurston's last command of the war.Captain Thurston VC is a nav...
-
The Climate Book
Greta ThunbergA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERWe still have time to change the world. From climate activist Greta Thunberg, comes the essential handbook for making it happen.You might think it's an i...
-
Mysteries of the Messiah
Rabbi Jason SobelAre you settling for half the story? Highlighting connections that have been hidden from nonJewish eyes, Rabbi Jason Sobel will connect the dots between the Old and New Testament, ...
-
Supreme City
Donald L. Miller“Supreme City captures a vanished Gotham in all its bustle, gristle, and glory” (Vanity Fair). In the 1920s midtown Manhattan became the center of New York City, and the cultural a...
-
The Lion in the Living Room
Abigail TuckerA New York Times bestseller about how cats conquered the world and our hearts in this “deep and illuminating perspective on our favorite household companion” (Huffington Post).Hous...
-
A History of English Food
Clarissa Dickson WrightIn this magnificent guide to England's cuisine, the inimitable Clarissa Dickson Wright takes us from a medieval feast to a modernday farmers' market, visiting the Tudor working man...
-
The Secret Life of Elizabeth I
Paul DohertyA secret that could have changed the course of English history... Acclaimed historian Paul Doherty offers an insightful interpretation of one of the most fascinating English monarc...
-
Panic Room
Robert Goddard‘Is this his best yet?...Full of sinister menace and propulsive pace with twisty plotting’ Lee ChildWHAT REALLY LIES WITHIN?High on a Cornish cliff sits a vast uninhabited mansion....
-
Mary Queen of Scots
Dr James MackayIn My End Is My Beginning is the story of Mary Queen of Scots (1542–87), the tragic heroine par excellence. Queen of an unfamiliar and troubled nation when she was a week old, it w...
-
Cold Comfort Farm
Stella GibbonsOne of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World''Brilliant ... very probably the funniest book ever written' Sunday TimesWhen sensible, sophisticated Flora Poste is orphaned at...
-
The Secret History
Procopius, Peter Sarris & G. WilliamsonA trusted member of the Byzantine establishment, Procopius was the Empire's official chronicler, and his History of the Wars of Justinian proclaimed the strength and wisdom of the ...
-
Rizzio
Denise MinaFrom the multiawardwinning master of crime, Denise Mina delivers a radical new take on one of the darkest episodes in Scottish historythe bloody assassination of David Rizzo &...
-
The American Crisis
Writers of The AtlanticSome of America’s best reporters and thinkers offer an urgent look at a country in chaos in this collection of timely, often prophetic articles from The Atlantic. The past four yea...