The acclaimed food critic's two-thousand-year history of going out to eat, from the ancient Romans in Pompeii to the luxurious Michelin-starred restaurants of today.Starting with the surprisingly sophisticated dining scene in the city of Pompeii, William Sitwell embarks on a romp through culinary history, meeting the characters and discovering the events that shape the way we eat today. The Daily Telegraph restaurant critic and famously acerbic MasterC...

Eggs or Anarchy is one of the great, British stories of the Second World War yet to be told in full. It reveals the heroic tale of how Lord Woolton, Minister for Food, really fed Britain. As a nation at war, with supply routes under attack from the Axis powers and resources scarce, it was Woolton's job to fulfil his promise to the British people, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill in particular, that there would be food on the shelves each week. Persuading the public to not resort to the...

AS READ ON BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK.The fascinating story of how we have gone out to eat, from the ancient Romans in Pompeii to the luxurious Michelin-starred restaurants of today.Tracing its earliest incarnations in the city of Pompeii, where Sitwell is stunned by the sophistication of the dining scene, this is a romp through history as we meet the characters and discover the events that shape the way we eat today. Sitwell, restaurant c...

"Sitwell is without doubt one of the great food writers of our day. Every serious cook should read this book at least once." — Marco Pierre WhiteA riveting narrative history of food as seen through one hundred recipes, from ancient Egyptian bread to modernist cuisine.We all love to eat, and most people have a favorite ingredient or dish. But how many of us know where our much-loved recipes come from, who invented them, and how they were ori...

AS READ ON BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK.The fascinating story of how we have gone out to eat, from the ancient Romans in Pompeii to the luxurious Michelin-starred restaurants of today.Tracing its earliest incarnations in the city of Pompeii, where Sitwell is stunned by the sophistication of the dining scene, this is a romp through history as we meet the characters and discover the events that shape the way we eat today. Sitwell, restaurant c...

This audiobook narrated by acclaimed ornithologist Tim Birkhead traces the history of the long and close relationship between birds and humansSince the dawn of human history, birds have stirred our imagination, inspiring and challenging our ideas about science, faith, art, and philosophy. We have worshipped birds as gods, hunted them for sustenance, adorned ourselves with their feathers, studied their wings to engineer flight, and, more recently, attempted to protec...

'A fascinating story of courage, doubt and defiance across three generations' SARAH WATERS'A fierce and beautiful book' EDMUND DE WAAL'Heartfelt and upfront... A grieving daughter rediscovers her mother's political past' BLAKE MORRISON, Guardian'A compelling reconstruction of her mother's life as a young anti-nuclear activist defying her suburban parents' CATHERINE TAYLOR, Financial Tim...

Brought to you by Penguin.A myth-busting biography of Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, which retells the dramatic story of the civil war from her perspectiveHenrietta Maria is the most reviled consort to have worn the crown of Britain's Three Kingdoms. Condemned as that 'Popish brat of France', a 'notorious whore' and traitor, she remains in popular memory the wife who wore the breeches and turned her husband Catholic ? so causing a civi...

Brought to you by Penguin.A fascinating personal account of a revolution in British farmingSarah Langford had left her country roots behind to live and work in the city as a barrister. But when she found herself moving to the countryside, back to an agricultural life she had left behind, she saw farmers dealing with very different problems to those faced by her grandfather, who had fed a starving nation after war. Beleaguered with the chall...

A powerful history of the forgotten lives of black Georgian Britain.Georgian England had a large and distinctive black community. Yet all of them, prosperous citizens or newly freed slaves, ran the risk of kidnap and sale to plantations. Their dramatic, often moving story is told in this audiobook.The idea that Britain became a mixed-race country after 1945 is a common mistake. Even in Shakespeare's England, black people were numerous enough for Queen Eliza...

For years Jeanette Winterson has loved writing a new story at Christmastime, and here she brings together twelve of her brilliantly imaginative, funny, and bold tales.For the Twelve Days of Christmas—a time of celebration, sharing, and giving—she offers these twelve plus one: a personal story of her own Christmas memories.These tales open a portal into the spirit of the season, when time slows down and magic starts to happen. From trees with mysterious powe...

A plastic box with a lightbulb attached may seem like an odd birthday present. But for ecologist Tim Blackburn, a moth trap is a captivating window into the world beyond the roof terrace of his London flat. Whether gaudy or drab, rare or common, each moth ensnared by the trap is a treasure with a story to tell. In The Jewel Box, Blackburn introduces these mysterious visitors, revealing how the moths he catches reflect hidden patterns governing the world around us.With name...