The English breakfast is one of the best-loved national meals in the world, an edible symbol of England and Englishness. But how did breakfast attain this distinction, what can a national meal tell us about the nation that eats it, what are the links between social and culinary change, and is there more to the English breakfast than bacon and eggs? This biography of the English breakfast shows how the renowned meal came into being over many centuries, reaching its height in the Victorian and Edwardian eras when splendid breakfasts were served from silver dishes in grand country houses across the land. Following this historical analysis are three authentic and complete cookbooks devoted entirely to breakfasts from the heyday of this best of all meals, with some 500 recipes by three celebrated culinary figures of the Victorian age - an elite hostess, a thrifty housekeeper, and a pukka colonial colonel - before the narrative continues up to the present. The epilogue, new to this paperback edition, covers 'the devolved breakfast' (Scottish, Welsh and Irish); the renaissance of the full breakfast during financial crises and the working class 'caff'. Mixing anthropology, cultural biography, the invention of tradition and the study of cookbooks as social documents, The English Breakfast is a truly unique work of food history.
The English breakfast is one of the best-loved national meals in the world, an edible symbol of England and Englishness. But how did breakfast attain this distinction, what can a national meal tell us about the nation that eats it, what are the links between social and culinary change, and is there more to the English breakfast than bacon and eggs? This biography of the English breakfast shows how the renowned meal came into being over many centuries, reaching its height in the Victorian and Edwardian eras when splendid breakfasts were served from silver dishes in grand country houses across the land. Following this historical analysis are three authentic and complete cookbooks devoted entirely to breakfasts from the heyday of this best of all meals, with some 500 recipes by three celebrated culinary figures of the Victorian age - an elite hostess, a thrifty housekeeper, and a pukka colonial colonel - before the narrative continues up to the present. The epilogue, new to this paperback edition, covers 'the devolved breakfast' (Scottish, Welsh and Irish); the renaissance of the full breakfast during financial crises and the working class 'caff'. Mixing anthropology, cultural biography, the invention of tradition and the study of cookbooks as social documents, The English Breakfast is a truly unique work of food history.
The Biography of a National Meal
The English Country House Breakfast
English Breakfasts
Breakfast and the Breakfast-table from the Young Ladies'
Journal
A Mere Man's Perfect Breakfast
Georgiana Hill's the Breakfast Book
Miss M. L Allen's Breakfast Dishes
Colonel Kenney Herbert's Fifty Breakfasts
Epilogue
References and Bibliography
A highly readable biography of England's most celebrated meal, The English Breakfast explores its history from its earliest beginnings through to the modern day brunch.
Kaori O'Connor is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology, UCL, UK.
Kaori O'Connor's splendid biography of what she claims is the most
famous national meal in the world shows how it came to occupy such
a unique place in the nation's heart and stomach.
*The Guardian*
This book carefully mixes together historical references, sample
menus, recipes and much miscellaneous trivia... A great little
book...essential reading for the Briton who might care about their
breakfast. And essential reading for a foreigner to learn a little
more about what can make an Englishman tick.
*Yum.fi*
The English Breakfast: The Biography of a National Meal with
Recipes by Kaori O’Connor is a delightful read on a very appetizing
topic. This volume represents a contribution to the growing
midrange of scholarly publication aimed at a discerning general
readership, while still making a valuable contribution to
professional scholarly discourse and publication. The subject of
food culture and history continues to be a popular one in public
and academic discourse, so it is exciting to see substantive works
like this one entering circulation. O’Connor does an admirable job
of deconstructing “The Full English” that most UK readers take for
granted and reminds us that even our most habitual actions, such as
how we prepare and consume food, are continually evolving and
filled with meanings we enact even without being conscious of their
material origins.
*Museum Anthropology Review*
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