Elizabeth David

Author profile

born

in The United Kingdom

December 26, 1913

died

May 22, 1992

gender

female

genre

Cooking, Food & Wine, Travel, Cooking History

influences

Marcel Boulestin, Hilda Leyel

About this author

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Born Elizabeth Gwynne, she was of mixed English and Irish ancestry, and came from a rather grand background, growing up in the 17th-century Sussex manor house, Wootton Manor. Her parents were Rupert Gwynne, Conservative MP for Eastbourne, and the Hon. Stella Ridley, who came from a distinguished Northumberland family. They had three other daughters.

She studied Literature and History at the Sorbonne, living with a French family for two years, which led to her love of France and of food. At the age of 19, she was given her first cookery book, The Gentle Art of Cookery by Hilda Leyel, who wrote of her love with the food of the East. "If I had been given a standard Mrs Beeton instead of Mrs Leyel's wonderful recipes," she said, "I would probabl...more Born Elizabeth Gwynne, she was of mixed English and Irish ancestry, and came from a rather grand background, growing up in the 17th-century Sussex manor house, Wootton Manor. Her parents were Rupert Gwynne, Conservative MP for Eastbourne, and the Hon. Stella Ridley, who came from a distinguished Northumberland family. They had three other daughters.

She studied Literature and History at the Sorbonne, living with a French family for two years, which led to her love of France and of food. At the age of 19, she was given her first cookery book, The Gentle Art of Cookery by Hilda Leyel, who wrote of her love with the food of the East. "If I had been given a standard Mrs Beeton instead of Mrs Leyel's wonderful recipes," she said, "I would probably never have learned to cook."

Gwynne had an adventurous early life, leaving home to become an actress. She left England in 1939, when she was twenty-five, and bought a boat with her married lover Charles Gibson-Cowan intending to travel around the Mediterranean. The onset of World War II interrupted this plan, and they had to flee the German occupation of France. They left Antibes for Corsica and then on to Italy where the boat was impounded; they arrived on the day Italy declared war on Britain. Eventually deported to Greece, living on the Greek island of Syros for a period, Gwynne learnt about Greek food and spent time with high bohemians such as the writer Lawrence Durrell. When the Germans invaded Greece they fled to Crete where they were rescued by the British and evacuated to Egypt, where she lived firstly in Alexandria and later in Cairo. There Gwynne started work for the Ministry of Information, split from Gibson-Cowan, and eventually took on a marriage of convenience, more or less as her aunt, Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, had done. This gave her a measure of respectability but Lieutenant-Colonel Tony David was a man whom she did not ultimately respect, and their relationship ended soon after an eight month posting in India. She had many lovers in ensuing years.

On her return to London in 1946, David began to write articles on cooking, and in 1949 the publisher John Lehmann offered her a £100 advance for Book of Mediterranean Food, the start of a dazzling writing career. David spent eight months researching Italian food in Venice, Tuscany and Capri. This resulted in Italian Food in 1954, with illustrations by Renato Guttuso, which was famously described by Evelyn Waugh in The Sunday Times as one of the two books which had given him the most pleasure that year.

Many of the ingredients were unknown in England when the books were first published, as shortages and rationing continued for many years after the end of the war, and David had to suggest looking for olive oil in pharmacies where it was sold for treating earache. Within a decade, ingredients such as aubergines, saffron and pasta began to appear in shops, thanks in no small part to David's books. David gained fame, respect and high status and advised many chefs and companies. In November 1965, she opened her own shop devoted to cookery in Pimlico, London. She wrote articles for Vogue magazine, one of the first in the genre of food-travel.

In 1963, when she was 49, she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, possibly related to her heavy drinking. Although she recovered, it affected her sense of taste and her libido.(less)

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Elizabeth David's Books

Average rating: 4.19 · 1,800 ratings · 126 reviews · 25 distinct works · Similar authors

	French Provincial Cooking by Elizabeth David, Juliet Renny (Illustrator), Julia Child (Foreword by) 4.27 of 5 stars 4.27 avg rating — 525 ratings — published 1960 — 8 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	An Omelette and a Glass of Wine by Elizabeth David, John Thorne (Goodreads Author) (Foreword) 4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 429 ratings — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Italian Food by Elizabeth David, Julia Child (Foreword) 4.26 of 5 stars 4.26 avg rating — 186 ratings — published 1954 — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Book of Mediterranean Food by Elizabeth David, John W. Minton (Illustrator), Clarissa Dickson Wright (Foreward) 4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 avg rating — 112 ratings — published 1950 — 8 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	English Bread And Yeast Cookery 4.39 of 5 stars 4.39 avg rating — 99 ratings — published 1977 — 8 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	French Country Cooking 4.36 of 5 stars 4.36 avg rating — 81 ratings — published 1951 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Summer Cooking 4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 83 ratings — published 1955 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Is There a Nutmeg in the House?: Essays on Practical Cooking with More Than 150 Recipes by Elizabeth David, Jill Norman (Compiler) 3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 81 ratings — published 2000 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	South Wind Through the Kitchen: The Best of Elizabeth David by Elizabeth David, Jill Norman (Editor), Julian Barnes (Foreword) 4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 44 ratings — published 2010 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Elizabeth David Classics: Mediterranean Food, French Country Cooking, Summer Cooking by Elizabeth David, John Minton (Illustrator) 4.53 of 5 stars 4.53 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 1980 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Elizabeth David…

Quotes by Elizabeth David

“To eat figs off the tree in the very early morning, when they have been barely touched by the sun, is one of the exquisite pleasures of the Mediterranean.”
― Elizabeth David, An Omelette and a Glass of Wine

tags: figs, food, mediterranean

18 people liked it

“Everyday holds the possibility of a miracle.”
― Elizabeth David

tags: inspirational, life

4 people liked it

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Elizabeth David

Author profile

combine editionsElizabeth David's Books

Quotes by Elizabeth David

combine editions
Elizabeth David's Books