Overview
In times of plenty, we stuff ourselves. When the food runs out, we're stuffed too. How have people in the British Isles shared the riches from our fields, dairies, kitchens and seas, as well as those from around the world? And when the cupboard is bare, who steps up to the plate to feed the nation's hungry children, soldiers at war or families in crisis? Stuffed tells the stories of the food and drink at the centre of social upheavals from prehistory to the present: the medieval inns boosted by the plague; the Enclosures that finished off the celebratory roast goose; the Victorian chemist searching for unadulterated mustard; the post-war supermarkets luring customers with strawberries. Drawing on cookbooks, literature and social records, Pen Vogler reveals how these turning points have led to today's extremes of plenty and want: roast beef and food banks; allotment-fresh vegetables and ultra-processed fillers. It is a tale of feast and famine, and of the traditions, the ideas and the laws which have fed - or starved - the nation, but also of the yeasty magic of bread and ale, the thrill of sugary treats, the pies and puddings that punctuate the year, and why the British would give anything - even North America - for a nice cup of tea.
Full Product Details
Author: Pen Vogler
Publisher: Atlantic Books
Imprint: Atlantic Books
Edition: Main
Dimensions:
Width: 15.30cm
, Height: 3.30cm
, Length: 23.40cm
Weight: 0.695kg
ISBN: 9781838955748
ISBN 10: 1838955747
Pages: 464
Publication Date: 02 November 2023
Audience:
General/trade
,
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
General
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
Sharp, rich and superbly readable... Vogler reveals why we eat what we do today - and it is fascinating. * Sunday Times on SCOFF * Utterly delicious... I can't remember the last time I read a food book so interesting and so lively. * Observer on SCOFF * This excellent history is full of fascinating facts about the food we eat. * Daily Mail on SCOFF * A brilliant romp of a book that gets to the very heart of who we think we are, one delicious dish at a time. -- Jay Rayner on SCOFF
A fact-stuffed romp through our edible history... Impressively wide-ranging... [Vogler] relishes the moments where the past crashes up against the present. * The Times * Fascinating... A scholarly and imaginative book full of incident and food for thought * Mail on Sunday * Delicious... [Vogler] is excellent, as in her 2020 book Scoff, at foraging among the sources to bring us wonderful stories of older food cultures. * Guardian * In this provocative history of British food, Pen Vogler goes back 400 years to lay the blame for our absurd modern eating habits. * Sunday Times * Engaging... Vogler shows how ongoing - and vital - the battle is to eat well... Deeply researched and great fun. It might make you think twice about what you eat, too. * Evening Standard * Vogler's book is divided into the histories of different foods - each telling of supply and demand falling into the right or wrong hands. The stories span pre-Enclosure times to the recent pandemic. They are deeply unsettling and anger-provoking, and it's a book that those who have influence over what we eat should read. -- Rose Prince * Spectator * Eating and feeding are the central projects of all human societies and Stuffed reveals that they are the very best lenses through which to understand our shared history. This is an extraordinary book about food, health and power; meticulously scholarly and extremely funny; as important as it is entertaining. Crucially it slices through the contemporary and historical politics of state versus individual responsibility: eating well is our responsibility, but it is the responsibility of the state to ensure we have that ability. And the book furnishes some ability itself with a series of recipes so that you can dine like a 17th central nobleman or a medieval peasant and feel a little more connected to the story of why we eat what we eat. Shot through with wit and humanity Stuffed is an all-consuming read. -- Chris van Tulleken, author of Ultra-Processed People Thoughtful, thought-provoking and full of fascinating detail (and intriguing recipes), this is a timely reminder we should never take our food for granted. -- Felicity Cloake Pen Vogler's Stuffed may tackle the question of hunger, but it is a generous and irresistible feast of a book. Spanning more than one thousand years of history, and focussing on 26 staple foods, Stuffed details the complex forces that determine diet, making clearer than ever that what we feed ourselves, our families and our communities is socially and politically shaped, and it always has been. -- Polly Russell
Eating and feeding are the central projects of all human societies and Stuffed reveals that they are the very best lenses through which to understand our shared history. This is an extraordinary book about food, health and power; meticulously scholarly and extremely funny; as important as it is entertaining. Crucially it slices through the contemporary and historical politics of state versus individual responsibility: eating well is our responsibility, but it is the responsibility of the state to ensure we have that ability. And the book furnishes some ability itself with a series of recipes so that you can dine like a 17th central nobleman or a medieval peasant and feel a little more connected to the story of why we eat what we eat. Shot through with wit and humanity Stuffed is an all-consuming read. -- Chris van Tulleken, author of Ultra-Processed People Thoughtful, thought-provoking and full of fascinating detail (and intriguing recipes), this is a timely reminder we should never take our food for granted. -- Felicity Cloake Pen Vogler's Stuffed may tackle the question of hunger, but it is a generous and irresistible feast of a book. Spanning more than one thousand years of history, and focussing on 26 staple foods, Stuffed details the complex forces that determine diet, making clearer than ever that what we feed ourselves, our families and our communities is socially and politically shaped, and it always has been. -- Polly Russell Sharp, rich and superbly readable... Vogler reveals why we eat what we do today - and it is fascinating. * Sunday Times on SCOFF * Utterly delicious... I can't remember the last time I read a food book so interesting and so lively. * Observer on SCOFF * This excellent history is full of fascinating facts about the food we eat. * Daily Mail on SCOFF * A brilliant romp of a book that gets to the very heart of who we think we are, one delicious dish at a time. -- Jay Rayner on SCOFF
A fact-stuffed romp through our edible history... Impressively wide-ranging... [Vogler] relishes the moments where the past crashes up against the present. * The Times * Fascinating... A scholarly and imaginative book full of incident and food for thought * Mail on Sunday * Engaging... Vogler shows how ongoing - and vital - the battle is to eat well... Deeply researched and great fun. It might make you think twice about what you eat, too. * Evening Standard * In this provocative history of British food, Pen Vogler goes back 400 years to lay the blame for our absurd modern eating habits. * Sunday Times * Eating and feeding are the central projects of all human societies and Stuffed reveals that they are the very best lenses through which to understand our shared history. This is an extraordinary book about food, health and power; meticulously scholarly and extremely funny; as important as it is entertaining. Crucially it slices through the contemporary and historical politics of state versus individual responsibility: eating well is our responsibility, but it is the responsibility of the state to ensure we have that ability. And the book furnishes some ability itself with a series of recipes so that you can dine like a 17th central nobleman or a medieval peasant and feel a little more connected to the story of why we eat what we eat. Shot through with wit and humanity Stuffed is an all-consuming read. -- Chris van Tulleken, author of Ultra-Processed People Thoughtful, thought-provoking and full of fascinating detail (and intriguing recipes), this is a timely reminder we should never take our food for granted. -- Felicity Cloake Pen Vogler's Stuffed may tackle the question of hunger, but it is a generous and irresistible feast of a book. Spanning more than one thousand years of history, and focussing on 26 staple foods, Stuffed details the complex forces that determine diet, making clearer than ever that what we feed ourselves, our families and our communities is socially and politically shaped, and it always has been. -- Polly Russell Sharp, rich and superbly readable... Vogler reveals why we eat what we do today - and it is fascinating. * Sunday Times on SCOFF * Utterly delicious... I can't remember the last time I read a food book so interesting and so lively. * Observer on SCOFF * This excellent history is full of fascinating facts about the food we eat. * Daily Mail on SCOFF * A brilliant romp of a book that gets to the very heart of who we think we are, one delicious dish at a time. -- Jay Rayner on SCOFF
Author Information
Pen Vogler is the bestselling author of Scoff, Dinner with Mr Darcy and Dinner with Dickens. She edited Penguin's Great Food series, writes and reviews on food history for the press and has recreated recipes from the past for BBC television.
