While still a girl, Elizabeth Gwynne longed to escape from the horsy, country-house world in which she was brought up. After being "finished" in Paris and Munich, she went on the stage, but she was restless and unsettled. In august 1939 she and her lover, Charles Gibson-Cowan set off in a boat for Greece. Trapped in Antibes by the war, Elizabeth came under the spell of Norman Douglas, one of the most important influences in her life. She and Charles set sail again just as Italy entered the war, only to find themselves ...
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While still a girl, Elizabeth Gwynne longed to escape from the horsy, country-house world in which she was brought up. After being "finished" in Paris and Munich, she went on the stage, but she was restless and unsettled. In august 1939 she and her lover, Charles Gibson-Cowan set off in a boat for Greece. Trapped in Antibes by the war, Elizabeth came under the spell of Norman Douglas, one of the most important influences in her life. She and Charles set sail again just as Italy entered the war, only to find themselves interned. Eventually they reached Athens. They spent the winter of 1940-41 on a Greek island, where Elizabeth first started to cook Mediterranean food. The German invasion of the Balkans forced them to join the refugees fleeing to Egypt. In the raffish "Fortunes of War" world of Alexandria and Cairo, Elizabeth flourished and came to know writers such as Lawrence Durrell and Patrick Leigh Fermor. She also met Tony David, an officer in the Indian army. He proposed to her by letter from Italy and, to the astonishment of her friends, she accepted. After the war and a few months in India, Elizabeth returned to grey and rationed England. Exasperated by the bleakness of English food, she put pen to paper and began to work out "an agonized craving for the sun". The result was "Mediterranean Food", a book which caught the imagination of a generation. In the course of the next decade, the happiest of her life, her books and articles inspired a cookery revolution. Elizabeth never spoke of her failed marriage, and few people knew about the other man, the great love of her life. When he left her for another woman, she thought she would never write again. Instead she opened her kitchen shop, but disagreements between the partners forced Elizabeth out. She returned to writing, but the tone of her last books was more scholarly than lyrical. Working from an extensive archive of personal papers, Artemis Cooper reveals the powerful tensions between Elizabeth David's private world and the image of the successful woman she presented to her public. It is a story that even some of her closest friends never knew.
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Very good. Simply Brit – welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring there's something for every literary palate. All orders are shipped within 24 hours and our lightning fast-delivery within 48 hours coupled with our prompt customer service ensures a smooth journey from ordering to delivery. Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality.
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This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has hardback covers. In good all round condition. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 850grams, ISBN: 9780718142247.
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Fine in Fine jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. (UK) 1st printing. No markings, Fine in Fine dust jacket. Black boards, xx, 364pp, index. 16 pp B&W photos. Elizabeth David's reputation as one of the most influential food writers of the 20th century rest primarily on her first five books. This biography balances her successful food writing career with her private world and gives details of her acting career, her trip to Greece with her married lover, Charles Gibson-Cowan, her friendship with Norman Douglas, her problems in Italy where she and her lover were accused of espionage and her eventual marriage to Tony David an officer in the Indian Army. (2.2 JM LVR 206/b1.