A Book of Mediterranean Food

Elizabeth David was a mid-20th century food writer whose work was influential in bringing Mediterranean cuisine to post-war Britain.  Her coming-of-age story is dashing: after studies at the Sorbonne, she became an actress, then sailed away from England at the age of twenty-five in a boat she'd purchased with her married lover. Their travels were interrupted by World War II, and they settled for awhile on the Greek island of Spyros before moving on to Crete.  Later, they were evacuated to Egypt.  David split from her lover and went on to other adventures, returning to England in 1946 where she began her food-writing career.

David's later life sounds melancholy, as I read about it in Artemis Cooper's biography Writing at the Kitchen Table.  Cases of white wine were delivered to her Chelsea kitchen, where she drank alone.  Many prominent characters in the food world came to the field by accident (James Beard also began as an actor) and many seem to have had more than a little darkness in their lives.

A Lawrence Durrell citation (see previous post) opens the "Jams, Chutneys, and Preserves" chapter.  Elizabeth David met Durrell during her time in Greece.

I bought this book, maybe in 1997, from Old Town Books, Tempe, AZ

David, Elizabeth. A Book of Mediterranean Food. New York: Horizon Press, 1952.

First American edition?

Illustrated by John Minton.