A Feast of Folklore
The Bizarre Stories Behind British Food
by Ben Gazur
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Pub Date 19 Nov 2024 | Archive Date 30 Sep 2024
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Description
"Endlessly informative and leaning hard into the British Isles’ reputation for the off-beat, this is a delight." — Publisher's Weekly
Folklorist Ben Gazur guides you through the dark alleys of British history to uncover how our food habits have been passed down through generations of folklore.
Who was the first person to throw salt over their shoulder? Why do we think carrots can help us see in the dark? When did we start holding village fairs to honour gigantic apple pies? Or start hurling ourselves down hills in pursuit of a wheel of cheese? Gazur investigates the origins of famous food superstitions as well as much more bizarre and lesser-known tales too, from what day the devil urinates on blackberries to how to stop witches using eggshells as escape boats.
Hilarious and fascinating, A Feast of Folklore will introduce you to the gloriously eccentric folk who aren’t often noticed by historians. Here lies a smorgasbord of their dark remedies and deadly delicacies, waiting to be discovered.
Advance Praise
'I’ll be raiding this Wonder Pantry of a book for years to come. . . . Diverting, delightful and deliciously weird enough to satisfy the most demanding appetite.'
Christopher Hadley, author of Hollow Places and The Road
‘Gazur’s witty and engaging exploration of food-related rituals, remedies and superstitions will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about your dinner plate.’
Dee Dee Chainey, author of A Treasury of British Folklore: Maypoles, Mandrakes and Mistletoe
‘A Feast of Folklore by Ben Gazur is one of those gems of a book that keeps you up long into the night because you just want to read “one more page” before putting it down.’
Willow Winsham, author of Treasury of Folklore: Stars and Skies
‘Well researched and presented in a light and most digestible manner, this is a must read the next time you are sitting down to a sausage roll’
Max Miller, creator of Tasting History with Max
‘Ben Gazur has categorised the folklore of food under neat, easily accessible headings, turning it into a proper genre, opposed to a tagged on history’
Emma Kay, food historian, author and broadcaster
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781800183162 |
| PRICE | US$22.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 256 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Reviewer 850130
This book was much more entertaining than I had expected it to be. I found myself reading passages out loud to the family and enjoying the stories and information within each chapter. It took me three days to read it, the time would have been much shorter if family members had not picked up my kindle to read this book every time I put it down. A great but for historians and kitchen folk alike.
Bookseller 1484533
A treat, in more ways than one!
As someone who grew up cooking in an Italian family, there were always small traditions that snuck into our routines without even realizing. Ben Gazur takes us on a journey of the who/what/where/when/and why of all of these food related traditions, patterns, and practices. This is such a fun and informative book that everyone who spends any time in a kitchen should pick up!
Reviewer 1394760
Incredibly hilarious and just my cup of tea. This is a non-fiction book about the origins of some of our eating habits but simplifying the context and content as such does not do this book justice, I liked Gazur’s writing style so much. I will read this book again and I highly recommend it to those who are looking for a good read on a bizarre topic. Well, the book is also very informative and asks interesting questions. It is the type of non-fiction book that I like and would read books written, structured and researched in a similar vein.
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