Product Review

Jane Austen wrote her novels in the midst of a large and sociable family. Brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, friends and acquaintances were always coming and going, and eating and drinking. Fortunately one of Jane's dearest friends, Martha Lloyd, lived with the family for many years and recorded in her "Household Book" over 100 recipes enjoyed by the Austens. This family fare, tested and modernized for today's cooks, is reproduced here, together with some of the more sophisticated dishes which Jane and her characters would have enjoyed at balls, picnics and supper parties. The introduction discusses Jane's own interest in food, as shown both in the novels and in her letters, and the importance of mealtimes and entertaining in the social life of her period (1775-1817), with the complete contents of Martha Lloyd's "Household Book" and the history of the manuscript, now in Jane Austen's House at Chawton, Hampshire. Delightful line drawings, prints and watercolours from contemporary sources illustrate the book.