At the end of her life, Frances Osborne’s one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother Lilla was as elegant as ever–all fitted black lace and...
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Jul 16, 2011
W.
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และยิ่งชัดเจนว่าเธอตีความเหมือนทนาย แต่เธอก็เป็นทนายที่มีหัวใจ
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เธอทำให้เห็นประเด็นที่อยู่ในความสนใจของตะวันตกสมัยที่เธอเขียนไม่ใช่สมัยย่าเท่าไรนัก
แต่นับว่าเธอทำงานได้ดีและเธอทำงานมากทีเดียวกับการทำความเ More...
เรื่องของย่าในอดีตถูกปะติดปะต่อด้วยหลักฐานบางอย่าง
ที่ผสมมุมมองของเธอ ณ ปัจจุบัน
เธอรู้ไปเสียทุกเรื่องแบบพระเจ้า
และยิ่งชัดเจนว่าเธอตีความเหมือนทนาย แต่เธอก็เป็นทนายที่มีหัวใจ
การนำประวัติศาสตร์เข้ามาในบางช่วงแหว่งวิ่น ไม่ได้ให้ตรรกะกับเรื่องที่จะเล่าต่อไป
เธอทำให้เห็นประเด็นที่อยู่ในความสนใจของตะวันตกสมัยที่เธอเขียนไม่ใช่สมัยย่าเท่าไรนัก
แต่นับว่าเธอทำงานได้ดีและเธอทำงานมากทีเดียวกับการทำความเ More...
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Aug 05, 2011
Kiwiflora
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The author was 13 when her great grandmother, Lilla, died in 1982 at the age of 100. Anyone who lives to this age has a story or two to tell, and Lilla had many. Born in China at the height of the might of the British Empire, Lilla's life mirrors the upheavals that change the fortunes of Britain forever. Her life experiences would not necessarily be unique for a woman of her class and background, but regardless, they still make a great story and deserve to be recorded. The thing about Lilla, is
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Jun 26, 2011
Polly
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Written by a great niece,this book attempts to reconstruct the story of Lilla, an identical twin girl, who was born to British treaty port residents in China in the late 1800s. It tells of her marriage to a military man and her time in Calcutta and in northern India, her times in England and her return to the port in China that felt like home to her. It takes her through times of plenty and times of poverty and the occupation of China by Japan during world War II. She and her elderly second husb
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Apr 20, 2009
Pamela
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This is the story of an ordinary woman who lived through some extraordinary times--100 years of them! Written by her great-granddaughter, her life encompasses three countries, two world wars, three husbands (or maybe it was just two and a fiancee) and an internment camp.
There are things I liked about this book and things I didn't. First the bad news: I found the author overdrawing her conclusions about how her great-grandmother might have felt at times. She was also over dramatic ab More...
There are things I liked about this book and things I didn't. First the bad news: I found the author overdrawing her conclusions about how her great-grandmother might have felt at times. She was also over dramatic ab More...
Feb 07, 2012
Mimi
rated it: 
A dear friend and I were discussing paraphrasing a few days ago, and the fact that to write well and persuasively, you need to be able to paraphrase the research you have learned so that you are in control of the story or essay.
This is a lesson that Frances Osbourne needed to learn. She has a very interesting topic in her great-grandmother, who was born and raised as a British Expat in China, and lived in India for several years during her young adulthood. During World War II, she More...
This is a lesson that Frances Osbourne needed to learn. She has a very interesting topic in her great-grandmother, who was born and raised as a British Expat in China, and lived in India for several years during her young adulthood. During World War II, she More...
Aug 25, 2009
Kate
rated it:
I found this quite an interesting read as I don't know much about the treatment of Westerners in China in the Second World War. Oddly though (especially for me) I didn't find the author's attempts to tie in her great-great-grandmother's recipe book (written in a Japanese internment camp in China in WW2) particularly interesting, and they were overly laboured. Also, I didn't believe that the author had any concept of cooking herself! It was almost as if those bits had been written by someone e
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Apr 30, 2011
Nanchez
rated it: 
A friend recommended this -- she knew I enjoyed historical-fiction-type stories, although, this is not fiction, rather a memoir of a strong, turn-of-the-century woman who grew up in China as a British alien...amazing story written by the woman's great granddaughter. Will be reading the author's 2nd book about her great aunt soon. Can't remember the title...will add when I find out.
Jun 13, 2008
Heather
rated it:
This is a fascinating recounting of the life of an ordinary British woman who lived through life in the China treaty ports, both World Wars, and many other important historical events across the globe. It is a story "of what large-scale history does to the small-scale people caught up in its events." Lilla became a strong and determined woman who wanted the best for her family. We get to see what her life was like as a British colonial, who ultimately felt more at home in China than
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Aug 02, 2009
Daryll
rated it:
This is one of my favourite books - in fact I would rate it the best book I read in 2007.
It is woman's life story, growing up in China, married life in India and England then returning to China. She is interned in a Chinese Prisoner of war camp where she proceeds to start writing down her recipes.
It is woman's life story, growing up in China, married life in India and England then returning to China. She is interned in a Chinese Prisoner of war camp where she proceeds to start writing down her recipes.
Jul 29, 2011
An interesting book about a strong woman. You couldn't help but admire her fortitude. And I learned some interesting bits of history I didn't know. I would have liked maybe a little more on the food/cooking angle and maybe more recipes from her prisoner of war cookbook. Overall, a satisfying read.
Jul 26, 2011
Kathleen
rated it:
a chatty read interesting account of life in china and india during the era of the Raj and british influence in china. It is also an interesting account of that period from a womans point of view.Woman had very few choices to follow in feeling themselves of value in that society and very little control an interesting b ook
Sep 25, 2009
Casey
rated it:
I was disappointed by this book. The cookbook that is spoken of so much is in the end a very minor occurence. I also became weary of the phrases "she would have been thinking...", " she would have wondered...." and so forth. I do think Lilla had a very interesting life but I really didn't like the way the book handled presenting it. I hate to speak too poorly of someone putting all the effort into writing a book, where was her editor?
Feb 22, 2009
Karen
rated it:
Fascinating account of a white woman raised in China. Her life is documented by her great granddaughter who pieced together her life from letters, interviews with living relatives and friends and a recipe book she wrote while in a Japanese internment camp during WW2, now on display in a museum in London.
Jul 15, 2011
Lilla
rated it:
I chose to read this book as the character's name is the same as mine.
The story is truly extraordinary the more so as is based on the life of a real person.
One can feel the love and devotion that went in to the writing of this book.Very well researched with few historical tidbits.Truly unforgettable.
The story is truly extraordinary the more so as is based on the life of a real person.
One can feel the love and devotion that went in to the writing of this book.Very well researched with few historical tidbits.Truly unforgettable.
Aug 05, 2011
Biographies usually don't grip me, but I"m desperate to return to Lilla's life on the pages of this book, just to see what other amazing hurdles she can overcome with a loving heart and some fantastic recipes.
Jul 05, 2009
Anne
rated it:
Frances Osborne's first book about one of her great-grandmothers. She certainly had an intersting family. Fascinating details about the disintegration of colonial China and how individuals outlast political boundaries.
Mar 29, 2009
Wellington
rated it:
Frances Osborne took on the challenge of writing about her great-grandmother. The story was more of an epic covering a 100+ years and three countries (England, India, and China).
Oct 15, 2010
Lynn
rated it:
Loved it - even more readable than "The Bolter", this biography features Frances Osborne's other great grandmother, Lilla Eckford, and her upbringing and travels throughout the ex-patriot communities of the British Empire. The most poignant section is Lilla's internment in a Japanese POW camp in China - and the hardships which gave rise to Lilla's imagining a great 'feast' - hence the title. Lilla loved cooking, and her camp recipe book now resides in the Imperial War Museum.
As a More...
As a More...
May 26, 2009
Linda
rated it:
Facinating life of an English woman born in China near the end of the British Empire. The author imposes herself in the story too much to make it great.
Dec 02, 2010
Katilo
rated it:
The story line was a bit repetitive but the history behind it was interesting. Loved looking at the old photos.
Sep 02, 2007
Eileen
rated it:
A fascinating use of a personal story to flesh out the early 20th century. So often we overlook the atrocities committed in the Pacific during WWII, but this puts a very personal face on it. As a history, it probably would have been better served to have someone NOT her great-granddaughter write it, but that personal touch was very moving. She knows so much about her great-grandmother, but there are still so many holes, which should encourage everyone who can to start collecting stories and h
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Jan 11, 2010
Elise
rated it:
A pretty interesting story but the technique of supposing what the protagonist might have felt at any given time grew wearying.
Nov 18, 2009
Margaret
rated it:
all things 'India' have been of interest since my recent travels there..this book was an interesting look at a English 'girl' born in China who lives as a new wife in India....i really enjoyed many parts of this narrative.
Dec 04, 2007
Synopsis: Story of Lilla (grandmother) born in China in 1882, lived to be 100. Privilege, deprivation, good and bad marriages, evil mother-in-law, lived in India, China and England, prisoner in Japan for 4 years. Wrote a cookbook that is now in the Imperial War Museum in London, which helped her through those years. This is a rich evocation of the history of the now lost world that was life in the British Empire in the Far East, and captures the stories of a lost generation of women.
Aug 30, 2011
2009- I was at first quickly drawn into this story of the author's grandmother's life. However, as I continued to read I though that a novelization, rather than a biographical-type style, might have made this story more interesting to read. Not a bad read, but there was a few sections in the middle that were slow.
Oct 05, 2008
Shirley
rated it:
This was a fascinating first book about the author's grandmother and her family. It is a wonderful description of what life was like as an Englishwoman who grows up in China and a moving account of life during the Japanese occupation. The theme of food is woven throughout the book, as Lilla wrote down her family recipes while she was in the concentration camp.
May 18, 2008
Lauren
rated it:
My grandmother also grew up in Cheefoo, so I've grown up with her stories. Lilla would have been almost a generation older than my grandmother, but it was still incredibly interesting to hear another perspective on the area, the people, the Western influence in Asian seaport towns, and the role of women - American women - at the time.
Dec 07, 2007
Catherine
rated it:
Frances Osborne gathered information about her great-grandmother (Lilla) from relatives and research and assembled this entertaining biography. Some of the material had to be assumed and presumed because her grandmother was unable to talk about many of her experiences, but Lilla's legacy was a very interesting to read.
Jul 30, 2008
Cynthia
rated it:
Loved this!!! British woman born and raised in China in the 1880's...lived in India....was interred in a Japanese prison camp during WWII...wrote a cookbook while imprisioned! True story and I love bios.
