Food and Identity in England, 1540-1640: Eating to Impress(Cultures of Early Modern Europe)

Food and Identity in England, 1540-1640 considers early modern food consumption in an important new way, connecting English consumption practices between the reigns of Henry VIII and Charles I with ideas of 'self' and 'otherness' in wider contexts of society and the class system. Examining the diets of various social groups, ranging from manual labourers to the aristocracy, special foods and their preparation, as well as festive events and gift foods, this all-encompassing study reveals the extent to which individuals and communities identified themselves and others by what and how they ate between the Reformation of the church and the English Civil Wars. This text provides remarkable insights for anyone interested in knowing more about the society and culture of early modern England.

Table of Contents:
PART ONE Introduction Chapter 1: Food and Identity PART TWO Chapter 2: The meaner sort and their diets Chapter 3: The middling sort and their diet Chapter 4: The diet of the gentry PART THREE Chapter 5: Special Foods and Their Preparation Chapter 6: Sociability – Gift-Foods and Special Occasions Conclusion Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Paul S. Lloyd is University Tutor and Part-time Lecturer at the University of Leicester, UK.

Review :
Lloyd’s work uses interesting sources to tell an important story about food in England in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries … The tale told in this volume will be of interest to those seeking to understand the meaning that clings to food and to those seeking a greater understanding of the Tudor and Stuart period of English History. Dr Lloyd has produced a fascinating study, rich in historical context. This extremely well-researched book, written in wonderfully clear prose, is part of Bloomsbury’s ‘Cultures of Early Modern Europe’ series ... [It] provides a wealth of fascinating information. Making rigorous use of a wide range of source material—from household accounts and records of public institutions, through diaries and correspondence, and onto cookery books and regimen guides—Paul Lloyd vividly reconstructs the increasingly differentiated eating habits of various ‘sorts’ of people in early modern England. Paying particular attention to the cultural impact of the Reformation on long-established patterns of consumption, Food and Identity in England examines the changing ways in which various groups within the population expressed their social and cultural self-image through their foodways. The result is a convincing portrait of how and why attitudes towards food changed between the mid-sixteenth and mid-seventeenth centuries, with profound implications not only for habits of sociability and commensality but also for the construction of collective social identities. Lloyd presents a careful, well researched, well thought out, and very well written analysis of the relationship between food and people in early modern England, utilizing recent research on food and society. He deftly shows the connection between food and social classes in England … The author's very clear writing style makes his book well suited for undergraduates and should stoke their imaginations by introducing creative and innovative ways to do research and look at sources in a fresh manner. At the same time, the book contains very sophisticated research and historical methods that would challenge any graduate student working on early modern England. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.