A Brief London Dalliance

“Italy and London are the only places where I don't feel to exist on sufferance.” ― E.M. Forster

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament as viewed from the London Eye. 2023 Crystal King

I’ve just returned from London, where I was doing a bit of research on my current work in progress. It was, strangely, my first trip to that beautiful city, a place that I have adored for much of my life through novels, music, television, movies, the brilliant humor of the Brits, and the city’s ever-fascinating history. I have spent so much time in Rome in recent years, and due to the age of both cities, I expected the same level of grit, I think, and was stunned by the absolute beauty I found in London. Not that I didn’t expect beauty, but perhaps not quite as much. It was cleaner than any big city I’ve ever been to and far more organized (this is where my British friends surely scoff). Five days were not nearly enough.

I threw together a quick vid of some of my photos from my trip if you want to check them out. There aren’t any captions due to a complete lack of time on my part, but if you see something you would like an explanation for, let me know in the comments!

London, I loved you. I can’t wait to return and see more of you!

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My Bookstore Find

One of the photos in that lot is of a bookstore across from The British Museum, Jarndyce Antiquarian Booksellers. It’s a small shop full of wonderful treasures, including a 1926 copy of Mrs. Beeton’s Household Management. As you can see, it’s a real tome, with nearly 1700 pages, so wide I can barely hold it in one hand. It’s a beast of a book, and the shop was kind enough to ship it to me so I wouldn’t lose precious luggage space.

Mrs. Beeton's Household Management, 1926

The book was first published in 1861 and quickly became a household name in Britain. It was expanded over the years, and the edition I have seems to be one of the first that significantly adds to the page count. I couldn’t think of a more fitting souvenir for me to bring back from this trip. When it arrived, I was also pleased to find a bit of found paper with a recipe for marzipan tucked between the pages. The book has everything you need to know to throw a party, address royalty, care for the sick, and run a home, plus 2000 recipes so you never run out of ideas for your table.

If you want to check out the book, Project Gutenberg has it online for free. Or if you want to own a modern abridged version of the book, you can snag that here.

Someone also put together a YouTube playlist of the book being read aloud in a boring, slow manner to put people to sleep!

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What’s Bringing Me Joy This Week:

• This wonderful clip of Julia Child discussing the fear of failure when cooking.

• If you are one of my readers that speaks Italian or is trying to learn it, if you haven’t tried out the Italian version of Wordle, Verba, now is your chance.

• This week was Robert Smith from The Cure’s birthday, and this wonder (and a song I love!) from the band’s early years resurfaced for me. Smith before all the makeup.

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Thanks for Joining Me

If you love food and love Italy, and haven’t read THE CHEF’S SECRET or FEAST OF SORROW, click the links to learn where to buy your copy! 🍒🍗🍷

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