For foodies and lovers of great British cooking, from Mrs Beeton to celebrity TV chefs, Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver, Culinary Pleasures takes a unique look at Britain's culinary history - a journey expressed through the development of its cookbooks. From collared calf's head with buttered nettles to egg and avocado pate to fish and porcini pie; from soggy carrots to asparagus al dente, this book has it all. Punctuated throughout with recipes reflective of the period and evocative images, Culinary Pleasures is a complete delight for foodies everywhere and constitutes a fascinating record of Britain's changing cultural attitudes.

'This book deserves the attention of every thoughtful foodie... An excellent account of the revival of our native culinary traditions which have, since the war, shrugged off their sense of inferiority to fancy foreign food.' Independent on Sunday 'A terrific book: a thoughtful, intelligent, highly readable account of the influence of the written word on Britain's culinary habits.' Literary Review

Nicola Humble is a Senior Lecturer in English Literature at Roehampton University. She has co-edited a volume of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management for Oxford University Press, and has also written The Feminine Middlebrow Novel, 1920s to 1950s: Class, Domesticity, and Bohemianism.