"Dress by Schiaperelli, photographs by Cecil Beaton, flowers by Constance Spry—The decorator of the moment, the photographer of the moment, the florist of the moment—what more could you ask?"
Thus Vogue magazine described the wedding in 1937 of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, but today Constance Spry is better known as the author of that bible of middle-class housewives throughout the land, The Constance Spry Cookery Book. But who was she? Those of us who recognize the name think only of recipes, but her story is in fact that of a profoundly unconventional woman, who went from a poverty stricken childhood to the height of London society, taking in a career as rich and varied as it was unusual for a woman of her era. Connie began her life teaching slum children and ended it creating the floral displays for the coronation Queen Elizabeth II. Along the way, she escaped a violent marriage, had a lengthy affair with a cross-dressing lesbian artist, and built a hugely successful business as a society florist. Today, her influence can be seen in every unorthodox flower arrangement, every "natural" bouquet tied with rattan and, of course, in the gardens up and down the country planted with the Constance Spry rose.

The Surprising Life of Constance Spry

Shephard, Sue

History

Pan/Macmillan

A riveting new biography—the first in 30 years—of the influential floral artist and founder of the Cordon Bleu cooking school "Dress by Schiaperelli, photographs by Cecil Beaton, flowers by Constance Spry—The decorator of the moment, the photographer of the moment, the florist of the moment—what more could you ask?" Thus Vogue magazine described the wedding in 1937 of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, but most people today, if they have heard of her, associate Constance Spry with the cookbook bearing her name. But Connie was much, much more than the author of a bestselling cookbook. She was deeply unconventional, extremely charming, and very determined; Spry's life took her from a poverty-stricken childhood to running a hugely successful business as the florist of choice for the highest of high society, organizing the flowers for royal weddings and for the Queen's coronation. Along the way she escaped a violent marriage, had a lengthy affair with a cross-dressing lesbian artist, and built a hugely successful flower business—a pioneer for working women at a time when few women had careers. Sue Shephard tells her extraordinary story with insight, wit, and flair.

The Surprising Life of Constance Spry: From Social Reformer to Society Florist

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Pan Books

Filled with delectable stories and fascinating facts, a richly textured history of food preservation, which forever changed the world, details the chemists, cooks, old legends, and new ideas, from Attila the Hun's unique method for curing meat to the technological advancements of today. 15,000 first printing.

Pickled, Potted, and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the World

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

Canning & Preserving

Simon&Schuster

We may not give much thought to the boxes in our freezers or the cans on our shelves, but behind the story of food preservation is the history of civilization itself. The development of portable, preserved food enabled the great explorers to travel into the unknown and gradually map the planet, facilitated the conquest of new territories, and created routes for the expansion of trade and the exchange of knowledge and culture that opened up our world. In Pickled, Potted, and Canned, author Sue Shephard weaves together the stories of the inventors -- and inventions -- in a lively and richly detailed narrative that spans centuries and continents. It is a tale filled with extraordinary characters, old legends, and new revelations: how Attila the Hun and his men "gallop cured" their meat; how cooks became chemists and chemists became cooks and how some even lost their lives, like seventeenth-century statesman and philosopher Francis Bacon, whose death was caused by an experiment with a frozen chicken. From the primitive techniques of drying and salting to the latest methods that have allowed us to feed men in space, Pickled, Potted, and Canned gives us fascinating insights into the histories, cultures, and ingenuity of people inventing new ways to "cheat the seasons."

Stories from around the world of a history of food preservation. Resplendent with historical figures from Francis Bacon who died trying to freeze a chicken, to Attila the Hun who 'gallop-cured' his meat by storing it under his saddle as he rode, this is a social history of food and civilization.

Pickled, Potted and Canned

Headline Book Publishing

Shipped from UK, please allow 10 to 21 business days for arrival. Very Good, Seeds of fortune: a gardening dynasty. xix, 300 pages, illustrated.

Seeds of Fortune: A Gardening Dynasty

Europe

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

For fans of The Tulip and Orchid Fever, a captivating account of big business, adventure and family intrigue in the horticultural world. 
For over a century and across five generations, one Scottish family pioneered the introduction of hundreds of new plants into gardens, conservatories and houses and became the foremost European cultivators and hybridizers of their day. The story begins in 1768 when a Scotsman named John Veitch went to England to find his fortune, starting out as a gardener for the aristocracy. Realizing that horticultural mania had begun to spread throughout the population, Veitch and his wife opened a nursery and began to send the first commercial plant collectors to North and South America, Australia, India, Japan, China and the South Seas. These plant collectors were among the first people allowed into the countries of the Far East and the tales of their travels, many of them perilous and some fatal, are wonderful adventure stories. Combining an historian's eye for detail with a flair for storytelling, the author charts the fortunes of one family and through them tells the fascinating story of the modern garden.

Seeds of Fortune

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Gardening & Landscape Design

Bloomsbury USA

From Cod to Callaloo: The Story of Bristol Through Food and Wine

Redcliffe Press Ltd.

Concocting a cheerful indifference to extremes of heat and hunger, tropical fever, shipwreck, disappointment or sudden death: the Victorian plant hunter is an almost mythical figure. Now, in Blue Orchid, Big Tree, two best-selling authors explore the dangerous world of William and Thomas Lobb, English brothers born in obscurity who became our greatest plant hunters, and whose precious legacy lives on in our landscape and in our parks and gardens. William Lobb (1809-1864) collected in South America and western North America and Thomas Lobb (1817-1894) traveled through south-east Asia and India. Together they put in a total of almost 30 years traveling and collecting, often in barely explored regions. Their travels and adventures are full of drama, trial and tribulation. The Blue Orchid (Vanda coerulea) was collected in the Khasia hills of India from under the nose of Kew collector, Joseph Hooker, who regarded Thomas Lobb as a mere "garden boy" until he beat him home with this beautiful and valuable addition to the orchid world. William Lobb discovered the "Big Tree" or Wellingtonia (Sequoiadendrn giganteum) on the Pacific coast of California and rushed home with sacks of seeds which made the Veitch nursery huge profits. Contents:1 Childhood in Cornwall; 2 A Plant Nursery in Devon; 3 The Far Side of the World: William in South America 1840-1844; 4 The Other Side of the World: Thomas in south-east Asia 1843-1847; 5 Business in the Glasshouses; 6 Patagonian Treasure: William in Chile and Peru 1845-1848; 7 Blue Orchid: Thomas in India and south-east Asia 1848-1853; 8 Big Tree: William in Pacific north-west America 1849-1853; 9 The Royal Exotic; 10 Last Orders: Thomas in Java and Borneo 1854-1857. William in California 1853-; 11 Journey's End Thomas in Burma, Borneo & Philippines. 1858-1860; 12 Growing Lobb Plants Today; Bibliography.

Blue Orchid and Big Tree: Plant Hunters William and Thomas Lobb and the Victorian Mania for the Exotic

Musgrave, Toby

Sansom

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Shephard, Sue. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Shephard, Sue

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Shephard, Sue. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Surprising Life of Constance Spry

The Surprising Life of Constance Spry: From Social Reformer to Society Florist

Pickled, Potted, and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the World

Pickled, Potted, and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the World

Pickled, Potted and Canned

Seeds of Fortune: A Gardening Dynasty

Seeds of Fortune

From Cod to Callaloo: The Story of Bristol Through Food and Wine

Blue Orchid and Big Tree: Plant Hunters William and Thomas Lobb and the Victorian Mania for the Exotic