Charlemagne's Tablecloth: A Piquant History of Feasting [Hardcover]

'a book stuffed with interesting detail.....many of the best passages concern her personal experiences.' (Bee Wilson SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

'this delicious volume.... a splendid gloulash of historial incidents, anecdotes, culinary customs, myths, and more or less anything else astonishing, entertaining, bizarre, or socially illuminating that has taken the author's fancy.' (Iain Sproat SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY )

'The most delicious feasts in this book are those organised and cooked by the author........ an irresistible combination of haute cuisine and high-mindedness, an event that deserves, like this book, a Michelin rosette.' (Christopher Bland THE SPECTATOR )

'Excellent.' (PETITS PROPOS CULINAIRE )

'Dip in or gorge oneself, there's something for everyone here. Immensely satisfying, and what's more it's calorie free.' (Sally Zigmond THE HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW )

'this fascinating book.....an essential book for anyone who likes food and it should set you up nicely for all the winter feasts.' (Kathryn Hughes THE MAIL ON SUNDAY )

'This scholarly but emintently readable book is littered with fascinating tales; no recipes but plenty of food for thought.' (SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY )

'Excellent.'

'Dip in or gorge oneself, there's something for everyone here. Immensely satisfying, and what's more it's calorie free.'

'This scholarly but emintently readable book is littered with fascinating tales; no recipes but plenty of food for thought.'

'this delicious volume.... a splendid gloulash of historial incidents, anecdotes, culinary customs, myths, and more or less anything else astonishing, entertaining, bizarre, or socially illuminating that has taken the author's fancy.'

'The most delicious feasts in this book are those organised and cooked by the author........ an irresistible combination of haute cuisine and high-mindedness, an event that deserves, like this book, a Michelin rosette.'

'this fascinating book.....an essential book for anyone who likes food and it should set you up nicely for all the winter feasts.'

Feasts, banquets and grand dinners have always played a vital role in our lives. They oil the wheels of diplomacy, smooth the paths of the ambitious and spread joy at family celebrations. Nichola Fletcher has selected the most colourful feasts in history to give a captivating account of why we enjoy gathering around a table to eat, drink and be merry. There is the extravagance of the high medieval and Renaissance, swallowing fathoms of blubber in North America, the exquisite refinement of the Japanese Tea ceremony - an eclectic collection of feasts from the flamboyant to the eccentric. Why did Charlemagne use an asbestos tablecloth at his feasts? What is the connection between Salvador Dali and the Aztecs? What links caviar to quinces? Nichola Fletcher answers these and many more questions in her compelling investigation of the feast in all its guises.

Nichola Fletcher is an active member of the Guild of Food Writers and was awarded the 1994 Scottish Food Achievement Award by the Sunday Times. She writes widely on food and runs an upmarket mail order service for venison.