The Language of Food

'A sensual feast of a novel, written with elegance, beauty, charm and skill in a voice that is both lyrical and unique' Santa Montefiore

Eliza Acton, despite having never before boiled an egg, became one of the world’s most successful cookery writers, revolutionizing cooking and cookbooks around the world. Her story is fascinating, uplifting and truly inspiring.

Told in alternate voices by the award-winning author of The Joyce Girl, and with recipes that leap to life from the page, The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs is the most thought-provoking and page-turning historical novel you’ll read this year, exploring the enduring struggle for female freedom, the power of female friendship, the creativity and quiet joy of cooking and the poetry of food, all while bringing Eliza Action out of the archives and back into the public eye.

‘I love Abbs’s writing and the extraordinary, hidden stories she unearths. Eliza Acton is her best discovery yet’ Clare Pooley

'A literary - and culinary - triumph!' Hazel Gaynor

‘Exhilarating to read - thoughtful, heart-warming and poignant, with a quiet intelligence and elegance that does its heroine proud’ Bridget Collins

'A sumptuous banquet of a book that nourished me and satisfied me just as Eliza Acton’s meals would have... I adored it' Polly Crosby

‘Wonderful... Abbs is such a good story teller. She catches period atmosphere and character so well’ Vanessa Nicolson

'Two of my favourite topics in one elegantly written novel - women’s lives and food history. I absolutely loved it' Polly Russell

'A story of courage, unlikely friendship and an exceptional character, told in vibrant and immersive prose' Caroline Scott

‘Richly imagined and emotionally tender’ Pen Vogler

'Characters that leap off the page, a fascinating story and so much atmosphere, you feel you're in the kitchen with Eliza - I loved it.' Frances Quinn

'Clever, unsentimental, beautifully detailed and quietly riveting' Elizabeth Buchan, author of Two Women in Rome