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Quadrille is launching a new cookery series helping readers rediscover food writers from as far back as the mid-19th century.
The first two titles in the Classic Voices in Food will be published in April next year following the launch of New Voices in Food in July 2010, which aims to showcase “interesting young chefs”. Classic Voices in Food will re-discover the great food writers of the past.
Originally published in the 1850s, Eliza Acton’s Modern Cookery for Private Families and Madame Prunier’s Fish Cookery Book, originally published in the 1930s, are the first two titles in the series. They will be published in April as hardbacks, priced £16.99 and £14.99 respectively.
These will be followed by a further two titles in September; Boulestin’s Simple French Cooking for English Homes and The Gentle Art of Cooking by Leyel & Hartley, both of which were published in the 1920s. Publisher Jane O’Shea said she sees this as an ongoing series and four more titles are already scheduled for 2012. “I’m very excited about this new series, or old series,” she said. “It was just one of those ideas that came out of the air, we publish new voices in food, so why don’t we publish old.”
O’Shea said: “Classic Voices represents the first new editions of the finest books in English on food and cooking. It’s fascinating that these classic titles are still so relevant to today’s cook.” She added: “With interest in food still growing, we felt there was a gap in the market to revisit the authors and the books that first established the tradition of food writing.”
O’Shea said Quadrille wanted to make the titles contemporary as well as nostalgic and so has kept the original illustrations in the books. She added the publisher is “respecting the original editions, but bringing it to the attention of the modern reader”. O’Shea said: “The idea is to give such names a new platform, with a modern look and package, appealing to both collectors and cookery enthusiasts alike.”
Jill Norman, who created the Penguin Cookery Library in the 1960s, is editing the series of books.