Annabel Abbs

In 1845, Eliza Acton published a cookery book -Modern Cookery - that continues to inspire and influence well-known cooks today. Only the barest bones of her life are known. That she was born into a wealthy family reduced by the father's bankruptcy, such that she and her mother were forced to run a boarding house. Here it was that Eliza, born far too grand to lift a ladle, learnt not only to cook, but to be inspired by food, by recipes, by ingredients. Annabel Abbs has taken this bare biography and lifted into an engaging story in which she and her hired help Ann Kirby feed from each other's interest and developing talent to invent and refine dish after dish, faithfully recorded and eventually published. Read this book to get an idea of Victorian genteel poverty - Eliza's family: and actual grinding poverty - Ann Kirby's circumstances, translated into an engaging story about two women who between them revolutionised British cooking, thanks not directly to them, but to Mrs. Beeton, who poached their material (spoiler alert).… (meer)

There's so much that I loved about this story but I think, overall, it fell a little short of its full potential. I started out feeling thankful that I'd stumbled on a rare historical fiction that wasn't contrived and full of smarminess---and I think it maintained that spirit to the end. Thank you, Author! I loved the atmosphere, as well as the attention to the interesting details coupled with avoidance of too much description of inconsequential things. I loved that there was so much allusion to real people and events that I spent an hour, and plan to spend longer, going through the suggested authors and reading list at the back of the book. I love it that Eliza Acton's original cookery book can be downloaded and printed---it's currently collecting on my printer tray---all 740ish pages of it.

There was a lot I struggled with, though. Since this book is about culinary arts, let me compare it to a delicacy. One may imagine a unique and beautifully executed story with all the special things that make it come together marvelously—one may even collect most of the ingredients to make it mix superbly. But if one tweaks an important element in the wrong way, the whole thing tastes a little off. One big issue was my difficulty with the supporting characters. Hatty starts off sort of bossy and keeps saying Ann must obey everything she says…but that doesn’t actually happen and the next lengthy scene concerning Hatty has her sympathizing with Ann and being kind. In the end, Hatty really never plays any significant part and the story could have been told just as well without her. Eliza's mother switches from kind to difficult to compassionate to snobby to hatefully revengeful in turns—I guess her one consistency is ridiculousness. Mr. Arnott seems intrigued by Eliza’s interest in how spices are used in cooking—even comments that it makes her unique and one gets the impression this is what attracts him to her; yet thereafter he makes it clear he expects her to be an ordinary Victorian ornamental wife. The whole thing with Eliza's sister, Mary, was completely unbelievable. Even the short time with the French chef is weird—he and Eliza butt heads but the next morning he suddenly has a change of heart and she’s suddenly lusting after him? All these shifts in character and story line might be ok if fleshed out a bit, but instead it just leaves me sad that this repetitive lack of character development mars an otherwise charming and well-written story. So many of these supporting characters are completely inconsequential.

The alluding to Eliza’s past goes on too long and random tragic events are thrown in with no foreshadowing. Sometimes really major events, like Eliza's breakup or the ending of Ann and Eliza’s friendship, are alluded to and then just skipped over like afterthoughts. Interesting “plot twists” are revealed far too late to be interesting. The seasoned reader has already discerned them. It's all just such a weird way to tell what could be a memorable story.

My opinion is probably not a popular one but I think Eliza acted selfishly to give up motherhood to chase her own interests. “Maybe I was not meant for motherhood," she says. Why? Because she has interests, hobbies, and dreams? So do I but God made me a mother—-so I fulfill that first and fit in the other things as I can. As someone whose mother left her family to go chasing greener pastures, this hits hard and leaves a bad taste. I lost a lot of respect for her there and I hope that's not her true story.

Ann’s memories of earlier days with her mother before the dementia made me sad. An attentive mother is priceless. I hope I don’t leave my children too soon.

The most memorable quote from this story was from a poem by Miss Letitia Elizabeth Landon called "The Widow's Mite": "Few save the poor feel for the poor: The rich know not how hard it is to be of needful food"

I'm planning to save this in my collection---and start adding to my antique cookery book collection much more regularly!… (meer)