A gorgeously written book that includes interesting insight into the background of recipe books and how they came to be written and set out the way they are today..

A quazi-historical book, which I felt used narrative as a tool, rather than keeping everything believably solid. I guess that it just landed badly with me, and coloured my view of the book.
It wasn't a bad story, but it sometimes jarred with me. Believable characters, I just felt the suspension of disbelief was too implausible, at least for me.

This was a well written historical novel based on real events, but I ended up feeling a little unsatisfied. I think I couldn't get over the way Eliza takes Ann's knowledge and suddenly becomes an amazing cook - there's lots of description of how difficult or painstaking a process is, but somehow magically they always manage to produce a delicious piece of food. I would have preferred more of an insight into their inner lives or alternatively more historical details about the food! An enjoyable read though.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

A character driven book filled with atmosphere and indulgence. I felt like I was in the kitchen with them, and It was such an enjoyable book!.

Firstly, I would like to thank Netgalley & William Morrow for the opportunity to receive a complimentary copy of The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own, and I also want to apologize for reviewing the book after its publication date.
When I read the summary of the book, I thought it would be historical fiction but would have the idea of The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. The truth is it is the first cookbook written in England.
This book introduces the reader to the wonderfully intricate culinary world in Victorian England. The book has commentaries about many subjects like the societal differences, the demands, the effort, the recipes, the food preferences, and the insane work involved in creating the everyday meals and the exquisite delicacies and delights depicted in this book.
It is interesting that in Eliza's book, she also inserts Jewish recipes, something very innovative for her time because the Jewish community and its regulations weren't something people were interested in at that era.
The friendship between Eliza and Ann is very uncommon because of their social differences, even though Eliza's father is bankrupt and decides to leave his family to deal with the consequences while he is in exile to France.
The author did a good job highlighting women's roles during this period and society's expectations. It was something she could explore a bit, not just with the two leads but with some of the other female supporting characters.
There is a type of twist or secret revealed towards the end that should have been surprising, but I felt detached from the story by that time and like it was thrown in by accident.
The Language of Food is an exciting book, and I will suggest it to readers who like historical fiction and books about food.


Two likes

As a social history fan and a huge foodie I really enjoyed this historical fiction book about Eliza Acton and Ann, her servant. I liked the flip between the characters in each chapter and their determination with their own goals against the challenges of the time.

First off – have you ever seen a more beautiful cover? So stunning!

The premise of this book was really interesting, and I appreciated the exploration of the lives of both women. The food content was wonderful, especially seeing the cookery book come together. Unfortunately, the story failed to grab me towards the end. Still, it was an enjoyable read and I would recommend to any fans of feminist biographies and food writing.

I didn't get along with this book and had to dnf it, which I don't normally do. The plot was too slow for me and I didn't feel engaged with the characters. It's a shame because I think there was a lot of potential and I love this type of historical fiction. Its fall-down may have been that it is based on a real story, and the author tried too hard to keep it real rather than build a more exciting story.

Beautifully written I love reading historical fiction books and this is no exception absolutely loved this book

Eliza Acton wants to be a poet. She has painstakingly saved up her poetry and bound it, hoping for publication. She knows that her writing is good but she is not at all expecting what the publisher tells her--to give up poetry and to write a cookery book if she wants to be published. Eliza is shocked and angered as she doesn't even know how to cook and she's ready to give up her dream. Unfortunately her father soon becomes bankrupt and it's up to her and mother to provide for themselves and suddenly Eliza finds herself studying food and teaching herself how to cook. With the help of a young maid, Ann, who happens to yearn to be a cook, the two of them write the greatest British cookbook of all time.

The book is told from the alternating view of both women and it's lovely to see how their friendship blooms over a mutual love of food. It definitely gave me a new appreciation for cookbook and all of the work that goes into writing a recipe. I did find that the ending was a bit unsatisfying because this strong connection between the two women just sort of fizzled out and became nothing but perhaps their purpose was served with their book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK for the ARC.

A really interesting story of a female writer, proficient in poetry, who is forced to write a cookbook to fit into trendy publications for women of the time. As a gentlelady, our heroine Eliza doesn’t have much experience cooking, but with the help of a local girl hired as a cook, they write one of the best cookbooks of the time, becoming well-renowned and leading to a successful partnership for decades to come.

It was a fun read, as both characters had secrets they were hiding from the other and it was a careful balance between the two. They struck up an unusual friendship, which became a very fruitful partnership for both ladies. Add in family secrets, a meddling mother hoping to marry off her daughter and the local priest’s wife sticking her nose into everyone’s business and you get a perfect amount of tension and risk of societal scandal.

Annabel Abbs is truly one of the best writers in this time period of historical fiction and I’m definitely planning on picking up more books by her in the future!

When Eliza's father becomes bankrupt and flees to France, Eliza and her mother determine to open a boarding house in Tonbridge. Eliza fancies herself a poet but is a spinster in her thirties. She employs a kitchen maid from the local town, Ann Kirby, whose mother is confined to an asylum, both the women have secrets. After being told by a publisher that she should write a cookery book, Eliza sets out to do just that.
This is a wonderfully gentle book which is surprisingly poetic. The descriptions of the food are delicious and the way that Eliza's poetry is used to frame the recipes in totally in keeping with the actual Eliza Acton book. Here the relationship between Ann and Eliza is central to the story and I loved the way that the life of a poor woman and a middle class spinster were both restrictive in their own ways.

The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs is a brilliant, well researched work of historical fiction bringing to life the often-overlooked mother of the modern cookbook, Eliza Acton. Eliza is a keen poet and, in her determination, to have her collection published, a flippant remark by the publisher telling her to “come back with a cookbook” sets her on the path to modernise the most common of household books.
This is a fantastic book, I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish and it gave me a new respect for cookbooks and cookery writing. Eliza is a wonderful character, full of determination and strength to succeed, but also harbouring a deeper secret, one which is the root of her ambition. As Eliza was born into a higher social class, she must overcome the judgement of her mother for lowering herself to kitchen work and hires Ann as her kitchen apprentice to assist in her work, as Eliza has never so much as boiled an egg before. Ann is a fascinating character who is torn between her responsibility for caring for her ailing parents and fulfilling her own hopes and dreams of being a cook. All in all, I loved The Language of Food and Eliza’s story will stay with me for a long time. I look forward to reading more of Annabel Abb’s work in the future. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK for a digital copy for review.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 (rounded up to 5)
Summary:

A fictionalised account of the life of poet and writer Eliza Acton, widely acknowledged to be Britain’s first cookery writer, The Language of Food tells the story of how she came to be a cookery writer whilst battling the societal norms of Victorian England as she sought to pave her own way of living, much to the consternation of her mother. While Eliza was initially reluctant to write a cookbook, she soon embraced the idea (firstly out of necessity to bring income for her family) and began to realise how poetry and the culinary arts work well together, and there is beauty in both those things. Over the course of a decade, and together with her assistant, Ann Kirby; a precocious teenager from an impoverished family, Eliza and Ann aimed to write a cookbook for middle and upper-class English households where the recipes were not only exact and accurate, but flavourful as well. Told from both Eliza’s and Ann’s points of view, The Language of Food details Eliza’s and Ann’s personal struggles as they both work hand-in-hand in making a life of their own in a world that does not allow them to.

Thoughts: For me, a marker of good historical fiction is that the story inspires you to learn more about the subject matter at hand, and that is the case of Annabel Abbs’ The Language of Food; and the author has included a list of recommended reading for those of us who would like to know more about Eliza Acton and/or the history of food in Britain.

Annabel Abbs has captured the essence of Victorian England well here, particularly the difficulties faced by women in wanting to forge their own lives, whether they were in the upper or lower classes. While Eliza wanted to publish first her poetry, and then her cookbook, in her own name, her mother was appalled by this notion, bemoaning she was bringing shame to the family by doing so. Ann, too, was shamed for her mother’s mental illness, and her ambitions of working professionally in a kitchen was scoffed at by her own brother. This idea of shame (and how the Victorians dealt with it – out of sight, out of mind) is also woven delicately throughout, and how it is often the women who paid the price.

Another aspect of this book that I really enjoyed was the centring of Ann Kirby’s story in tandem with Eliza’s; too often in historical fiction the stories of servants/ the “lower classes” are neglected; so, to have Ann’s (and her family’s) story being told with such care was wonderful to read. Ann is easily my favourite character – mature beyond her years, intelligent and loyal.

Stylistically, I liked how each chapter is titled after a recipe, assuming these are real recipes from Eliza Acton’s Modern Cookery for Private Families. The writing also flows beautifully, and the author’s depictions of each dish being developed was a feast for the (imaginary) senses!

Many thanks to the author, publishers and Netgalley for an ARC (in spite of this belated review!).

I fell in love with the cover and like this love letter to food that tells the story of a cookery book, of women and their reality in the XIX century.
Even if it's a bit slow at times I was fascinated by the story and the well developed characters
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I′m not a good cook and follow recipes exactly, so thank goodness for Eliza Acton! This is almost a book of two genres, but mixed together to make a satisfying whole.
One part is a historical novel which deals with the life of Eliza and her assistant Ann Kirby. Eliza is not married which is a source of never-ending disappointment to her mother. As the story progresses we have some insight into Eliza′s past and why she might choose not to marry. But this is reinforced by her desire to be an author and to make her own way in life, to be a woman of independent means.
Ann′s background shines a harsh light on poverty in the 19th century. Her father is an ex-soldier with only one leg so unable to find work and prone to drowning his sorrows with alcohol. Her mother has dementia and ends up in a lunatic asylum, the true horror of which is not immediately apparent. When the local vicar finds Ann work as a servant to Eliza′s family it′s a step up however hard the work might be.
The other part of the book is an exploration of cookery and how it has waxed and waned in Britains. Early recipes had instructions so succinct and obscure that they were more of an aide memoire than a method you could follow.
How Eliza and Ann go about discovering old recipes and those from other sources is something I found engrossing.
A really interesting book to read – the stories of the two women were touching, and the look at early cookery a revelation.

I had a copy of this book early through Netgalley

Eliza Acton is a published poet, but when her publisher rejects her latest work and tells her to go home and write a cookery book, she finds a new love for food and cookery, and works on the development of her recipes with her kitchen maid Ann, a young woman whose own family background is quite tragic, and for whom this job is a real lifeline.

The story - a fictionalised account of a real person - brings the characters wonderfully to life. It's a beautifully told love story to food, and I was only sorry that it ended quite abruptly, when I felt there was still more of the story to be told.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let's get stuck in. Annabel Abbs has crafted not just a novel, but a love letter to food and to those who dream of achieving what others think they cannot.

What I enjoyed:
- Ann Kirby is a sweetheart; we meet her at 17, and quickly fall in love with her longing for adventure. The portrayal of her love for her family, conflicting with not just the want but the need to fulfil her passion of becoming a cook, is beautifully done.
- Ann's mother has, what I believe we all would come to recognise in modern day as dementia/alzheimers. The treatment of her by others in the local community broke my heart a little (TW for treatment of mental health issues).
- The contrast in Eliza and Ann's ambitions. Eliza is both progressive and conservative. In one respect she wants to be able to publish using her own name and endeavours to do so where society would rather she did not. Nor does she want to marry. However, she still views Ann more like a favourite servant than a friend or equal - something neither really realise.
- I quite enjoyed that this didn't focus on romance - so many historical fiction novels focus on this first and foremost and this was refreshing.

What I didn't enjoy:
- Eliza irked me. I think this was intentional? I'm not sure. But, I think at times she lacked sight of the bigger picture and really only cared about her own singular goal. There are some redeeming moments, but they're not big enough for me to truly connect with her as much as I connected with Ann.
- It was a bit longer than it could have been, and when the book did end, I felt like there should have been more attention paid to what was summarised in the last few paragraphs.

Will I reread? Perhaps. There are definitely sections that were truly beautiful and deserve to be read again and again.

Thank you to the author, publisher (Simon and Schuster UK) and NetGalley for this ARC.

This is a really unique book. A combination of a cookbook, historical fiction and a history book. This is a fictional biography of Eliza Acton (who's story is mainly based on true facts), a poet, playwright and cookery book author, intertwined with the story of her assistant Ann Kirby.

This is a must read for anyone who loves the Victorian era or if a food-lover. It touches on so many issues of that era including sexism, the plight of servants, the rural poor and the insane (including those with dementia), and the wastefulness of the upper and middle classes when those at the lowest levels were starving.

The detail gone into is great, you really feel like you are there experiencing it with the characters.

I loved all the additional little bits like the historical notes and the real recipes referenced at the end. It helped provide excellent context to the story, and created more depth and detail.

After finishing I looked into Eliza Acton's book and I think I will be purchasing one.