Skip to product information
1 of 1

Goldsboro Books

978-1398502222

The Language of Food

The Language of Food

by Annabel Abbs

Publisher Simon & Schuster

Genre: General Fiction

Released:

  • Signed by the Author
  • UK First Edition
  • First Printing
  • Hardcover


Regular price £14.99
Regular price Sale price £14.99
Sale Sold out
Rendering loop-subscriptions
Rendering loop-subscriptions

Available from:

Limited Edition Copies

View full details
  • Professionally Packed

    All of our books that have a dust wrapper are covered in clear protective, removable film and are packed professionally in bubble wrap and a box for shipping so that they reach you in perfect condition.

  • Book Condition & Notes

    All of our books that a have dust wrapper are covered in clear protective, removable film and are packed professionally in bubble wrap and a box for shipping so that they reach you in perfect condition.

About the book

England 1835. Eliza Acton is a poet who dreams of seeing her words in print. But when she takes her new manuscript to a publisher, shes told that poetry is not the business of a lady. Instead, they want her to write a cookery book. Thats what readers really want from women. England is awash with exciting new ingredients, from spices to exotic fruits. But no one knows how to use them

Eliza leaves the offices appalled. But when her father is forced to flee the country for bankruptcy, she has no choice but to consider the proposal. Never having cooked before, she is determined to learn and to discover, if she can, the poetry in recipe writing. To assist her, she hires seventeen-year-old Ann Kirby, the impoverished daughter of a war-crippled father and a mother with dementia.

Over the course of ten years, Eliza and Ann developed an unusual friendship one that crossed social classes and divides and, together, they broke the mould of traditional cookbooks and changed the course of cookery writing forever.

Told in alternate voices by the award-winning author of The Joyce Girl, and with recipes that leap to life from the page, The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs is the most thought-provoking and page-turning historical novel youll read this year, exploring the enduring struggle for female freedom, the power of female friendship, the creativity and quiet joy of cooking and the poetry of food, all while bringing Eliza Action out of the archives and back into the public eye.

Exhilarating to read - thoughtful, heart-warming and poignant, with a quiet intelligence and elegance that does its heroine proud Bridget Collins
'A sumptuous banquet of a book that nourished me and satisfied me just as Eliza Actons meals would have... I adored it' Polly Crosby

Collapsible content

About the Author

Annabel Abbs

Annabel Abbs is a multi-award-winning writer of fiction and nonfiction, published internationally in 30 languages. She grew up in Wales and Sussex, with stints in Dorset, Bristol and Hereford. Daughter of academic and poet, Peter Abbs, she has a degree in English Literature from the University of East Anglia and a Masters from the University of Kingston. She lives with her family in London and Sussex, and is a Fellow of the Brown Foundation.

Annabel’s debut novel, The Joyce Girl, won the 2015 Impress Prize for New Writing and the 2015 Spotlight First Novel Award, and was longlisted for the 2015 Caledonia Novel Award, the 2015 Bath Novel Award and the 2016 Waverton Good Read Award. It was a Reader Pick in The Guardian 2016 and was one of ten books selected for presentation at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival. In 2022 it was shortlisted for the Grand Prix de Lecteurs. Published across the world, Annabel discussed The Joyce Girl on BBC Radio 4’s Soul Music. It is currently being adapted for the stage.

  • Gift Ideas For Book Lovers: Best Books For Christmas 2024

    Gift Ideas For Book Lovers: Best Books For Chri...

    David Headley

    Get ready for the ultimate book lovers gift guide from the independent team at Goldsboro Books.  As the holiday season fast approaches, we know that finding the perfect gift can...

    David Headley

    Gift Ideas For Book Lovers: Best Books For Chri...

    Get ready for the ultimate book lovers gift guide from the independent team at Goldsboro Books.  As the holiday season fast approaches, we know that finding the perfect gift can...

  • Bookseller Recommendations: London Bookseller - Chiara

    Bookseller Recommendations: London Bookseller -...

    Elizabeth Melbourne

    We're back with more bookseller recommendations! Today, London bookseller, Chiara, takes us through some of her favourite recent reads, and some new and upcoming releases she is looking forward to! ...

    Elizabeth Melbourne

    Bookseller Recommendations: London Bookseller -...

    We're back with more bookseller recommendations! Today, London bookseller, Chiara, takes us through some of her favourite recent reads, and some new and upcoming releases she is looking forward to! ...

  • An Interview with John Connolly

    An Interview with John Connolly

    Goldsboro Books

    This week, we had the brilliant John Connolly in the London shop to sign copies of his latest short story collection, Night & Day, which spans across genres from the supernatural...

    Goldsboro Books

    An Interview with John Connolly

    This week, we had the brilliant John Connolly in the London shop to sign copies of his latest short story collection, Night & Day, which spans across genres from the supernatural...

  • The Goldsboro Crime Collective Unpacked!

    The Goldsboro Crime Collective Unpacked!

    Rebecca McDonnell

    The Goldsboro Crime Collective is a subscription service launched by Goldsboro Books in 2024, tailored specifically for crime fiction enthusiasts. Subscribers receive a monthly, hand-picked selection of first-edition crime novels,...

    Rebecca McDonnell

    The Goldsboro Crime Collective Unpacked!

    The Goldsboro Crime Collective is a subscription service launched by Goldsboro Books in 2024, tailored specifically for crime fiction enthusiasts. Subscribers receive a monthly, hand-picked selection of first-edition crime novels,...

1 of 4