I have a couple of books on my TBR pile which are set during our current queen's silver jubilee and golden jubilee:
Jubilee by Shelley Harris
Jubilee by Eliza Graham
I can't think of any historical fiction which I've read which feature any monarch's jubilee.
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December 2012: Feasts & Celebrations in Literature
- Vanessa
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 4378
- Joined: August 2008
- Currently reading: The Farm at the Edge of the World by Sarah Vaughan
- Interest in HF: The first historical novel I read was Katherine by Anya Seton and this sparked off my interest in this genre.
- Favourite HF book: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell!
- Preferred HF: Any
- Location: North Yorkshire, UK
currently reading: My Books on Goodreads
Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind
Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind
-
- Reader
- Posts: 84
- Joined: May 2012
I picked up a book called A Hampshire Christmas compiled by Sara Tiller in a second-hand bookshop, an anthology of seasonal memories. A few foody extracts:
The Christmas Wassail Bowl, at one time offered to carol singers - strong ale, the froth of roasted apples, cloves, cinnamon, and a grate of nutmeg, ginger and brown sugar.
Frumenty, a dish once served in old farmhouses for breakfast at Christmas time - One dish of crushed whole wheat, sugar, spice, and raisins and skimmed new milk, simmered in a jar in the oven, or at the back of the stove overnight, and eaten hot or cold.
The Christmas Wassail Bowl, at one time offered to carol singers - strong ale, the froth of roasted apples, cloves, cinnamon, and a grate of nutmeg, ginger and brown sugar.
Frumenty, a dish once served in old farmhouses for breakfast at Christmas time - One dish of crushed whole wheat, sugar, spice, and raisins and skimmed new milk, simmered in a jar in the oven, or at the back of the stove overnight, and eaten hot or cold.
[quote=""Madeleine""]Netherwood by Jane Sanderson has lots of food descriptions, as the main character starts up a pie business and ends up cooking for the family at the Big House - it has some recipes at the back too.[/quote]
Oh yes, I can recommend that one - lots of delicious descriptions. I know Jane and she told me some of her dishes were inspired by the Marks and Spencers mini party food ranges!
I recently read John Saturnall's Feast by Lawrence Norfolk and was blown away by the prose and the food descriptions. I'd highly recommend it. It has a sort of Nigella Lawson turn of phrase to the descriptions, but being as I love Nigella's writing and read it for fun, that's no bad thing. In fact, although it is non fiction, Nigella Lawson's 'Feast' is a terrific read.
Oh yes, I can recommend that one - lots of delicious descriptions. I know Jane and she told me some of her dishes were inspired by the Marks and Spencers mini party food ranges!
I recently read John Saturnall's Feast by Lawrence Norfolk and was blown away by the prose and the food descriptions. I'd highly recommend it. It has a sort of Nigella Lawson turn of phrase to the descriptions, but being as I love Nigella's writing and read it for fun, that's no bad thing. In fact, although it is non fiction, Nigella Lawson's 'Feast' is a terrific read.
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard nI chasront
'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'
Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal
www.elizabethchadwick.com
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard nI chasront
'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'
Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal
www.elizabethchadwick.com
- Antoine Vanner
- Reader
- Posts: 70
- Joined: October 2012
- Location: South-East England
Beware of Frumenty!!!
[quote=""J.D. Oswald""]I picked up a book called A Hampshire Christmas compiled by Sara Tiller in a second-hand bookshop, an anthology of seasonal memories. A few foody extracts:
The Christmas Wassail Bowl, at one time offered to carol singers - strong ale, the froth of roasted apples, cloves, cinnamon, and a grate of nutmeg, ginger and brown sugar.
Frumenty, a dish once served in old farmhouses for breakfast at Christmas time - One dish of crushed whole wheat, sugar, spice, and raisins and skimmed new milk, simmered in a jar in the oven, or at the back of the stove overnight, and eaten hot or cold.[/quote]
Treat Frumenty with great caution - just remember the unhappiness unleashed when the sinister old Frumenty Woman added spirits to the glass of it she served to Michael Henchard, the later Mayor of Casterbridge! Untold misery would have been avoided if Henchard had not indulged his taste for Frumenty and Thomas Hardy would have had to look elsewhere for an equally depressing plot!
The Christmas Wassail Bowl, at one time offered to carol singers - strong ale, the froth of roasted apples, cloves, cinnamon, and a grate of nutmeg, ginger and brown sugar.
Frumenty, a dish once served in old farmhouses for breakfast at Christmas time - One dish of crushed whole wheat, sugar, spice, and raisins and skimmed new milk, simmered in a jar in the oven, or at the back of the stove overnight, and eaten hot or cold.[/quote]
Treat Frumenty with great caution - just remember the unhappiness unleashed when the sinister old Frumenty Woman added spirits to the glass of it she served to Michael Henchard, the later Mayor of Casterbridge! Untold misery would have been avoided if Henchard had not indulged his taste for Frumenty and Thomas Hardy would have had to look elsewhere for an equally depressing plot!
Another possible topic for conversation is the English country house party (I would think especially with the popularity of shows like Downton Abbey). These pop up a lot in historical romances. It's harder for me to think of examples from general fiction historicals, but I'm sure there are plenty of them.
A country house party post-WWI is the subject of Martin Davies' novel The Year After. Memories of past such occasions in happier times infuse the story with a haunting melancholy, as the survivng members of a group of old friends gather to see in the 20th century and wonder how much they really knew each other in that distant pre-war life.