A Literary Feast: Recipes and Writings by American
Women Authors from History
Yvonne Schofer, Editor
"There was sweet, crisp lettuce and tender radishes in scarlet coats,
there were green peas, and beans, and beets, and onions, and potatoes,
with dessert of wild gooseberries and plums, which latter were furnished
gratis by the gracious mother in the woods nearby. Appetizing food is
not the sole foundation of human happiness and progress, but it is surely
one of the pillars thereof."
—The Squatter Sovereign (1883) Mary A. Humphrey
About
the Book
From Louisa May Alcott to Kate Douglas Wiggin, early American writers
found time to describe and prepare sumptuous dishes still cook-worthy
today. Beginning with Bouillon for Parties and Germans (a dance reel,
not a people!) and ending with Sauce aux Marrons, a Creole chestnut sauce
served over broiled turkey chicks, A Literary Feast presents the
soup-to-nuts of eating in America more than a century ago.
This unique cookbook provides an abundance of recipes from the nineteenth
century, along with excerpts from American literature written by women,
who were, after all, the primary cooks of the time, illustrating how food
and eating fit into domestic life. Together they provide an unusual—and
entertaining—snapshot into the world of an earlier era.
About
the Authors
Yvonne Schofer is a Humanities Bibliographer at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries in Memorial Library.
Loni Hayman, Joan Jones, and Anne
Tedeschi, members of the Friends of the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Libraries, compiled the material for A Literary Feast.
Praise
for A Literary Feast
"Take a delicious step back in time right now ..." —The
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Read
the entire article.
"A lively mixture of food and cooking descriptions from old books,
sprinkled with recipes from the period. " —Wisconsin State
Journal Read entire article.
"A curious delicacy, to be sampled and savored for its unique blend of
food, history and literature. Readers should prepare for a dash of adventure
in every dish."—Madison Magazine
"Recipes for everything from wilted dandelions to pudding are married
with 19th-century fiction and nonfiction…Documents a time when cooking
with the seasons was a reality of life rather than a trend, and the challenges
of preparing meals offered one's daily workout." —Wisconsin
Trails
"An entertaining look at the America of an earlier time, and a real
treat for those who read cookbooks the way other people read novels. There's
something for every taste (and taste bud)…"—On Wisconsin
Magazine
"A tantalizing glimpse into life in a different age." —Wisconsin
Academy Review
"An entertaining and revealing best-of-both worlds book…"—Isthmus
"Not only a delightful cookbook with charming observations about
food, A Literary Feast is a valuable contribution to both women's
history and food studies. The book entertains as well as offers evidence
of the important connections between women and food. Until recently, that
relationship has been trivialized and misunderstood, but with growing
numbers of books on the subject appearing, a new period of understanding
has finally arrived. A Literary Feast will be a joy to cooks with
an interest in history and literature and great resource for researchers
who continue this investigation." —Barbara Haber, author
of From Hardtack to Home Fries: An Uncommon History of American Cooks
and Meals
"What a great pleasure it is to trace culinary dishes to their source
and place in history. Anyone wondering where those dishes we learned from
Grandmother came from or curious about the origin of some of their favorite
recipes will love this unique cookbook." —Monique Jamet
Hooker, author of Cooking with Seasons, A Year in My Kitchen
"For people who read cookbooks like novels, A Literary Feast
offers the best of both worlds—food and fiction from the 19th century.
I can't think of a more enjoyable way to learn about the culture of a
by-gone era than by juxtaposing its literary lives with period recipes."
—Terese Allen, author of Wisconsin Hometown Flavors
A Literary Feast: Recipes and Writings by American Women Authors
from History
Yvonne Schofer, Editor
ISBN 0-9721217-2-2
8 x 9.4, 224 pages, 200 recipes
$28.00 Hardcover—Cookbook
August 2003
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