Writing at the Kitchen Table: The Authorized Biography of Elizabeth David

`Writing at the Kitchen Table' is the `Authorized Biography of Elizabeth David' by Artemis Cooper. Biographer Cooper, by great sympathy with his subject, with access to great sources, and by superior narrative has given us a superior biography of one of the three great female English language culinary writers of the twentieth century. It is revealing to compare the lives and careers of Ms. David with the other two greats, Julia Child and M.F.K. Fisher. She stands roughly between Child, the great teacher and Fisher, the great gourmand and explorer of appetites. Her recipe writing was less pedagogical and more analytical than Child, and less subjective but more attentive to details of other peoples works than Fisher. In their personal lives, it is interesting to see that while David and Fisher were certifiably beautiful women through much of their lives, their success with husbands was poor to dismal by the standards of their day and ours. In contrast, the very tall and warbly voiced Julia Child was attractive by the same standards one may have used with Eleanor Roosevelt, yet her family life with husband, Paul Child was one of the world's great enduring love stories. A fascinating parallel with Child and David is that they both served in their country's intelligence organizations overseas during World War II. While Child was with the OSS in India and Burma, David was with British Intelligence in Cairo, where she landed at the beginning of the war after a literally hair raising flight from the Italians and Germans in 1940, across the Mediterranean just as the Germans were invading Greece. Also, Ms. Child and Ms. David both met their future husbands during the war. One small problem I have with the biographies of both Ms. David and Ms. Fisher is that neither does a really good job of identify the spark that ignited their interest in food. Unlike these two, Julia Child's epiphany is obvious when she found herself with a husband who liked to eat well, and she did not really know how to cook. Necessity took over and Julia dove into the subject with what became a lifelong passion. With Elizabeth David, the interest seems to creep up on her as a result of really dismal food in her nursery as a child, followed by the revelation of very good food while living and studying in Paris and Munich. While Ms. Fisher started writing before World War II, Ms. Child and Ms. David both started their careers around 1950, although Ms. David was first published `Mediterranean Food' seven years before Julia Child et al's `Mastering the Art of French Cooking'. In fact, by 1962, after publishing `French Provincial Food' and `Italian Food', Ms. David was quite the authority compared to newcomer Child. This is another interesting parallel in that the most famous works from all three authors came early in their careers. While Ms. Fisher's greatest fame came in the 1960's, it was largely based on reissues of works she did in the 1940s. And, neither Ms. Child nor Ms. David

When friends and relatives and acquaintances gathered together Sept. 10, 1992 to memorialize Elizabeth David, they shared bottles of Macon Prisse 1991 and Morgan Chateau Gaillard 1991, as well as conversation. Artemis Cooper, author of `WRITING AT THE KITCHEN TABLE: THE AUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY OF ELIZABETH DAVID suggests David would have approved. In the space of several decades, David had revolutionized cooking and meal preparation in Britain and introduced the British to really fine wines. Like her counterpart in America-Julia Child-David had no idea she would cause such a stir when she began to write articles about French, Italian, and other Mediterranean cuisines after WWII. David's notion that one could cook and eat other people's food-a multiethnic moment if there ever was one-was downright avant garde in the 1950s. Cooper covers David's (nee Elizabeth Gwynne) life from her early days on the family estate in Wales, through WWII when she worked for the British in Egypt, to her amazing career as an author of books on food and food preparation. Before, during, and after WWI, David lived in Italy, the Levant, Egypt, and India where she learned how to make many local dishes and to appreciate "home grown" foods we call organic today. When Ms. David began to write about her dishes on her kitchen table, rationing was in still in force in Britain. Nevertheless, her first book on French country cooking was a hit. She then went on to write a number of books and many articles focused on what various people grow, cook, and eat.Elizabeth David certainly lived in interesting times. A most intriguing aspect of Cooper's biography is her skillful placement of David within her age, a period during which the social mores of the UK changed somewhat dramatically. David had many interesting friends, including the writers Lawrence Durrell and Norman Douglas. Her book agent was Paul Scott, author of the RAJ QUARTET, and Olivia Manning, who wrote the Balkan and Levant trilogies known collectively as THE FORTUNES OF WAR was a friend from her days in Egypt. If you enjoy biographies as social history, I recommend ELIZABETH DAVID.

When I purchased this book, I had no idea who Elizabeth David was, but as a writer I couldn't resist reading about such a successful cookbook author. Artemis Cooper sorted through an immense amount of material and produced a wonderful story of a woman and the times that created her.Born well-to-do in Britain, Elizabeth David started life basically ignored by her parents, and grew into a dilettante. With some bad judgement she ended up in the wrong place (Italy) toward the beginning of World War II, and spent years being exposed to a completely different kind of food than she had known in England. So one of the "bad" events in her life helped guide her to cookery writing.The biographer has a lovely writing style, and fills in the bits quoted from letters and interviews very smoothly with narrative explanations. For example, Artemis writes "Robin Fedden invited Elizabeth to Chantemesle, some fifty miles northwest of Paris, where his parents lived. On one side of the house was the River Seine, winding between little green islands alive with birds, and on the other, the abrupt ascent of a dry limestone escarpment. Cherry and apricot trees stood about the house. 'It was beautiful there. I have never forgotten it,' Elizabeth wrote. Perhaps it was then that Robin proposed to her; many years later, she admitted to Robin's daughter Frances that she and her father had been engaged." The biographer does this throughout the book, turning one little quote into a lyrical paragraph (though if you think this sample was overdone, then you probably won't like this book).By following Elizabeth's life, I learned that food rationing remained in place in England until the mid 1950's, and what horrible things can happen to an author when the rights to her books pass to other publishers than the ones she originally signs with (shudder!). While the story lagged for me when she returned home and began writing cookbooks, other readers who are more familiar with her and the people in her life will likely disagree.On a personal note, I resolved to learn from some of Elizabeth's mistakes. Much of the unhappiness in her life stemmed from her personal weaknesses. A very rigid woman, she had trouble seeing things from another person's perspective. This allowed her the joy of being right, but separated her from other people.Although a rather dense read, this book is overall very enjoyable.

I found this book fascinating if chock-full of minute details, but then I am a Mrs. David fan. She was a product of her era and her class, so of course she was a bit of a snob. Anyone who'd expect her to be some Miss Marple-like character probably doesn't know much about history, nor about England! And, many strongly determined people with high standards who are really good at what they do can be difficult at times.The fact is, after the war and in the middle of rationing, she changed the way Britain looked at food. This is no small feat, and presaged the success that Julia Child found in the States with Mastering the Art of French Cooking and her first television show. To Elizabeth David and to Julia Child we owe, among other things, the arugula and fresh herbs we can buy in the supermarket today.My only wish is that I'd met Elizabeth David.

My mental picture of Elizabeth David was of a fastidious purist, living in spartan elegance with a summer home in Provence and a huge garden. I saw a kindly, tolerant, gracious lady. Well--not exactly. Ms. Cooper does a very even-handed, non-obtrusive job. I was somewhat put off by the "authorized" biography part, thinking it might be only what the family saw fit to print. Happily, Ms. Cooper had a free rein to use any and all materials. The brief section dealing with Mrs. David's childhood sets the scene of a very well connected family who are not anyone's idea of favorite relatives. I didn't get a clear picture of Elizabeth, and wondered if perhaps the author didn't depend too much on one person's casual comment to attempt to define a large part of Elizabeth's character. She did not seem like a particularly happy child. When she was 17, she embraced life and never looked back. By turns an actress, student, stage manager; she had very little direction and non-existant discretion. She had a series of lovers, spent WWII very precariously mostly because of her own poor planning and finally when she was in her late 20's found she could write passionately about food--and the rest is history. Though the author is sympathetic, Mrs. David was not a pleasant person. She was egocentric, morbidly suspicious, overbearing and very conscious of class (her own). But was was an excellent teacher and drew acolytes to her all of her life. She was beautiful and not particularly discriminating so had a romantic life that was hectic, but not particularly fulfilling. I admired her scholarly dedication and her lifelong disdain for the second rate effort. There is no question she deserved all her success. She worked at it and earned it. An excellent read you won't forget. For anyone interested in food or food writing, this is one you will want for your library. For general interest readers, it is well done about an interesting subject.