Two excellent reference books that no home should be without
The Oxford Companion to English Literature **** edited by Margaret Drabble Oxford University Press, 2000 The sixth edition of The Oxford Companion to English Literature is an essential guide for anyone interested in English literature. This massive volume covers all major writers and works of fiction, poetry, literary theory, plays, philosophy and cultural thought—ranging from Geoffrey Chaucer to Nick Hornby, from Beowulf to deconstruction—providing an indispensable encyclopedic survey of English-language literature. The book is interspersed with two-page essays on various topics, such as fantasy, spy and detective fiction, post colonial or structuralist literary criticism, meter, modernism, the Gothic novel and black British literature. The entries themselves, however—which are succinctly written and refreshingly jargon-free—are considerably shorter and contain helpful references to related topics. This latest edition has also been revised and updated with new entries, such as Anglo-Indian literature, hypertext, New Irish playrights, gay and lesbian literature and such contemporary writers as Amit Chaudhuri, Jim Crace, Michael Ondaatje and Carol Shields. Beyond the narrower context of English literature, the Oxford Companion sheds light on the wider cultural discourse underlying the written word by using abundant cross-references, exploring classical mythology and history, and including entries on influential European writers, thinkers, artists and musicians, such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Carl Gustav Jung, Immanuel Kant, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Nicolas Poussin, Sergei Prokofiev, Tomás de Torquemada and Jules Verne. The book contains three appendixes, the first of which provides readers with key works of English literature from the year 1000 to 1999, along with relevant authors’ names and major historical or literary events that occurred in those years and life dates of important figures. The second appendix comprises a list of poets laureate and the third a complete listing of literary awards, including the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the Library Association Carnegie Medallists and the Booker Prize for Fiction. As well as being a reliable resource for academics and journalists, this book is foremost a general companion, as the title suggests. Whether the reader is looking for information on Copernicus, such recent authors as Vikram Seth and Kate Atkinson, pragmatism, the Bush Theater or the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, this is an expertly researched reference book, and an invaluable addition to any person’s library. Larousse Gastronomique **** Hamlyn Publishers, 2001 First published in Paris in 1938, the Larousse Gastronomique has since been acknowledged by culinary experts as the bible of chefs, cooks and food buffs worldwide. This new edition brings together past volumes filled with information on each and every type of food and cuisine while informing readers of advancements in flavor combination, presentation and ethnic and social changes that have taken place over recent decades. The end of the 20th century brought with it a greater understanding of food and how people relate to it––there were significant technological improvements, cultural shifts, societal expectations and twists on traditional cuisine. This giant reference book (over 1,300 pages of detailed food entries) brings this, and much more, together in an excellent combination of history, demonstration, theory and technique. It is a book aimed at both professionals and amateurs: essentially, at anyone with a strong desire to learn more about gastronomy and the art of fine cooking. Filled with colorful, elegant photographs, the book will make the reader’s mouth water as he/she imagines tackling such delicacies as capitaine in banana leaves, roasted poached capon with pumpkin gratin, steamed stuffed chicken with ragout of broccoli, asparagus mousse with orange butter, crème caramel, artichoke pie with foie gras and truffle, vanilla meringue and oyster soup. The over 3,000 recipes are interspersed throughout the many food entries, which range from such complicated masterpieces as sautéed calf’s kidney with Madeira and three mustards, chocolate mille-feuille, jellied eels, roast goose with sage and onion stuffing, souffléed sardines with sorrel and stuffed squid to less difficult but equally impressive delights like maple syrup tart, cream of ginger bass, duck with crystallized turnips and cider, classic brioche, cheese soufflé and saffron ice cream. Staple recipes are not forgotten, such as bolognese sauce, potato gnocchi, cauliflower au gratin, mango sorbet, guacamole, braised ham, omelets, onion soup and ginger cake. General listings stretch from the very basic (butter, chocolate, restaurant, carving knife, alcohol, peanut, table napkin) to the exotic (octopus, cardamom, turbot, anise, crocodile, emu), and lengthy descriptions of the different varieties of fruits and vegetables are accompanied by tantalizing photographs. In addition to food entries, records of famous chefs and culinary experts, restaurants, foreign terminology, wines and various cocktails from around the world are also included, as well as an extensive list of kitchen implements and techniques from the basic to the professional, such as blanching, lining a bombe mould, deep-frying, boiling eggs, kneading dough, filleting and skinning fish, pastry piping, poaching, preserving food, trussing poultry, making puff pastry. The volume contains a general index and a separate recipe index. Larousse Gastronomique is truly a food lover’s paradise, an enchiridion that is essential for all cooks and a pleasure for everyone else.