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Description
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'Wonderfully wise and moving ... This is some woman; this is some life' - Scotsman
'A brilliantly funny yet moving memoir' - Daily Mail
'[Luard] joins a line of inspiring cooks who write about the everyday necessity of food as the ultimate refuge from the harsh reality of death' - The Times
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Born in London during the Blitz, Elisabeth Luard – stepdaughter of a British diplomat and reluctant debutante in her teens - was working as an office typist at Private Eye when she fell for the 'King of Satire' Nicholas Luard. At just twenty-one years old, she married him. As the pioneer of Britain's satire movement, Nicholas was intelligent, handsome and charismatic, yet he was also unreliable, a philanderer and very often only just ahead of the bank. Their life together may not always have been easy, but it was certainly never dull.
Tracing the fascinating years they spent together in London to their years in Spain, France, the Hebrides and Wales with their four children, Luard's frank and bittersweet memoir takes us through the best and the worst of their marriage, and chronicles Nicholas's devastating descent into alcoholism. Yet this is also a story of hope as well as sadness - the healing power of children, the comfort and pleasure of good food and the simple joy of making life work. Both honest and tender, it is an account of a life shared and, above all, of a love story with flaws.
Product details
Published | 01 Jun 2013 |
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Format | Paperback |
Edition | 1st |
Extent | 336 |
ISBN | 9781408831250 |
Imprint | Bloomsbury Paperbacks |
Illustrations | 2x8pp intergrated |
Dimensions | 198 x 129 mm |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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Wonderfully wise and moving memoir ... This is a book suffused with love - of food, family, and of a clearly charismatic man. It is the story of a life with an epic sweep ... This is some woman; this is some life
Scotsman
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A brilliantly funny yet moving memoir
Daily Mail
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Elisabeth Luard, serious contender for Greatest Living Food Writer ... writes books that are fiercely intelligent but without preachiness, deliciously pragmatic and laced with humour ... exploring food, family and grief with equal frankness
Daily Telegraph
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[Luard] joins a line of inspiring cooks who write about the everyday necessity of food as the ultimate refuge from the harsh reality of death
The Times
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There are many things in the book to enjoy, not the least the recipes which accompany each chapter. Elisabeth's account of her childhood is amusingly dreadful and her portrait of Miriam Rothschild is a minor masterpiece
Carolyn Hart, Telegraph
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Luard calls this "a love story with flaws" and I admire her for not trying to put a rosy glow on what sounds like a difficult marriage
Lynn Barber, Telegraph