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10+ Works 467 Membros 25 Reviews

About the Author

Obras de Annabel Abbs

Associated Works

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Outros nomes
Streets, Annabel
Abbs-Streets, Annabel
Data de nascimento
1964-10-20
Sexo
female
Nacionalidade
UK
Local de nascimento
Bristol, England, UK
Relacionamentos
Abbs, Peter (father)

Membros

Resenhas

Enjoyed this, as it took me out of myself and talks about some women writers well known to me, and others I now want to read.
 
Marcado
fmclellan | 1 outra resenha | Jan 23, 2024 |
An interesting book based on the lives of Eliza Acton and her kitchen maid, Ann Kirby. This book made me want to cook! The imagery made the book come alive- filling my senses with smells (some good, some bad)! Its illed with comradey and a yearning for independence. A definite must read!
 
Marcado
Sassyjd32 | outras 16 resenhas | Dec 22, 2023 |
There's so much that I loved about this story but I think, overall, it fell a little short of its full potential. I started out feeling thankful that I'd stumbled on a rare historical fiction that wasn't contrived and full of smarminess---and I think it maintained that spirit to the end. Thank you, Author! I loved the atmosphere, as well as the attention to the interesting details coupled with avoidance of too much description of inconsequential things. I loved that there was so much allusion to real people and events that I spent an hour, and plan to spend longer, going through the suggested authors and reading list at the back of the book. I love it that Eliza Acton's original cookery book can be downloaded and printed---it's currently collecting on my printer tray---all 740ish pages of it.

There was a lot I struggled with, though. Since this book is about culinary arts, let me compare it to a delicacy. One may imagine a unique and beautifully executed story with all the special things that make it come together marvelously—one may even collect most of the ingredients to make it mix superbly. But if one tweaks an important element in the wrong way, the whole thing tastes a little off. One big issue was my difficulty with the supporting characters. Hatty starts off sort of bossy and keeps saying Ann must obey everything she says…but that doesn’t actually happen and the next lengthy scene concerning Hatty has her sympathizing with Ann and being kind. In the end, Hatty really never plays any significant part and the story could have been told just as well without her. Eliza's mother switches from kind to difficult to compassionate to snobby to hatefully revengeful in turns—I guess her one consistency is ridiculousness. Mr. Arnott seems intrigued by Eliza’s interest in how spices are used in cooking—even comments that it makes her unique and one gets the impression this is what attracts him to her; yet thereafter he makes it clear he expects her to be an ordinary Victorian ornamental wife. The whole thing with Eliza's sister, Mary, was completely unbelievable. Even the short time with the French chef is weird—he and Eliza butt heads but the next morning he suddenly has a change of heart and she’s suddenly lusting after him? All these shifts in character and story line might be ok if fleshed out a bit, but instead it just leaves me sad that this repetitive lack of character development mars an otherwise charming and well-written story. So many of these supporting characters are completely inconsequential.

The alluding to Eliza’s past goes on too long and random tragic events are thrown in with no foreshadowing. Sometimes really major events, like Eliza's breakup or the ending of Ann and Eliza’s friendship, are alluded to and then just skipped over like afterthoughts. Interesting “plot twists” are revealed far too late to be interesting. The seasoned reader has already discerned them. It's all just such a weird way to tell what could be a memorable story.

My opinion is probably not a popular one but I think Eliza acted selfishly to give up motherhood to chase her own interests. “Maybe I was not meant for motherhood," she says. Why? Because she has interests, hobbies, and dreams? So do I but God made me a mother—-so I fulfill that first and fit in the other things as I can. As someone whose mother left her family to go chasing greener pastures, this hits hard and leaves a bad taste. I lost a lot of respect for her there and I hope that's not her true story.

Ann’s memories of earlier days with her mother before the dementia made me sad. An attentive mother is priceless. I hope I don’t leave my children too soon.

The most memorable quote from this story was from a poem by Miss Letitia Elizabeth Landon called "The Widow's Mite": "Few save the poor feel for the poor: The rich know not how hard it is to be of needful food"

I'm planning to save this in my collection---and start adding to my antique cookery book collection much more regularly!
… (mais)
 
Marcado
classyhomemaker | outras 16 resenhas | Dec 11, 2023 |
Not quite as good as I'd hoped it would be, but maybe that's because it also felt a bit different that I expected. This is a fictional work based on the real life of Elizabeth Acton, author of what is considered to be one of the world’s most successful cookery writers, with Modern Cookery for Private Families first published in 1845 and was a best seller internationally for the next 90 years.

Abbs, condensed the 10 years Acton worked on the cookbook, along with her assistant/servant Ann Kirby, and imagined how the partnership might have worked. I think she did a great job, and I was enjoying it right up until the end, where it did so rather abruptly. Acton returns home from a visit to her sister's, full of enthusiasm, energy, and plans to add a chapter on bread, enters the kitchen to hear Ann humming, and BAM! The next page is the Epilogue. It was disorienting, to say the least.

Otherwise, it was an enjoyable, if not exactly riveting, read. I knew nothing about Acton (as I try never to cook), but by the time I finished this book, I planning on trawling the used book sites for a copy of Modern Cookery for Private Families, even though I have no plans to start cooking. I think it was the scene involving quince paste. I'm intrigued by quinces and would be willing to try my hand at paste. Anyway, a good read, with some great author notes at the end about what's accurate and what's story-telling. It's always a bonus when fiction can be educational too.
… (mais)
½
 
Marcado
murderbydeath | outras 16 resenhas | May 30, 2023 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
10
Also by
1
Membros
467
Popularidade
#52,672
Avaliação
3.8
Resenhas
25
ISBNs
61
Idiomas
8

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