Joan Thirsk is the UK's leading historian of agriculture. She is the author of Alternative Agriculture: A History.

"Sit back, dip in and enjoy these feasts of evidence and story-telling." The Times Higher Education Supplement "Everyone serious about food should read this wonderful book, for inspiration no less than enjoyment. It is thanks to books like this that we can expand our own range." The Spectator"

• Preface; List of Illustrations; Abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Setting the Scene Before 1500; 2. The Food Scene Surveyed, 1500-1550; 3. The Widening World of Food, 1550-1600; 4. Science and the Search for Food, 1600-1640; 5. War and the Search for Food, 1640-1660; 6. Food in the Commercial Age, 1660-1700; 7. Food in an Industrialising Age, 1700-1760; 8. Regional and Social Patterns of Diet, 1500-1760; 9. A Closer Look at Some Foods:; Bread; Meat of Farmyard Animals and Rabbits; Eggs and Bird Meat, Farm-Fed and Wild; Fish; Vegetables and Herbs; Fruit and Nuts; Drinks; Condiments and Spices.; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

Joan Thirsk is the UK's leading historian of agriculture. She is the author of Alternative Agriculture: A History.

"Sit back, dip in and enjoy these feasts of evidence and story-telling." The Times Higher Education Supplement "Everyone serious about food should read this wonderful book, for inspiration no less than enjoyment. It is thanks to books like this that we can expand our own range." The Spectator"

• Preface; List of Illustrations; Abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Setting the Scene Before 1500; 2. The Food Scene Surveyed, 1500-1550; 3. The Widening World of Food, 1550-1600; 4. Science and the Search for Food, 1600-1640; 5. War and the Search for Food, 1640-1660; 6. Food in the Commercial Age, 1660-1700; 7. Food in an Industrialising Age, 1700-1760; 8. Regional and Social Patterns of Diet, 1500-1760; 9. A Closer Look at Some Foods:; Bread; Meat of Farmyard Animals and Rabbits; Eggs and Bird Meat, Farm-Fed and Wild; Fish; Vegetables and Herbs; Fruit and Nuts; Drinks; Condiments and Spices.; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.