Marco Balzano

Jill Foulston

Resto Qui

La Vita e Bella is the perfect gift for all those with a passion for all things Italian and the finer things of life--beautiful architecture, centuries of tradition and fine food and wine. This glorious celebration and distillation of the heart and soul of Italy provides a glimpse inside 15 ravishing Italian homes, from castles to farmhouses, as well as the regions in which they are set. La Vita e Bella also features insightful essays on many of the traditions and characteristics of Italian life, including festivals and customs, regional food and drink specialities, and more. Interspersed throughout the book are recipes for favorite Italian dishes, including risotto, gnocchi, gelato and other sweet treats, as well as quotations from great writers and philosophers, designed to immerse you in the delightful culture and ambience of La Bella Italia!

The Elegant Art of Living in the Italian Style

La Vita E Bella

Jane Austen found her sister Cassandra a locket. Joan Didion bought nail enamel and a toaster on impulse. Karyn Bosnak charged $20,000 on credit cards - and wild child Elizabeth Wurtzel got caught shoplifting. George Eliot, on the other hand, hated shopping. Those are the true stories, but there are hundreds of fictional shoppers: The Girl with the Pearl Earring turned up her nose at some stale meat; Tom Ripley lusted after Venetian leather goods, while Jane Eyre cringed at Mr Rochester's pre-wedding excess. This is the first anthology to feature writing about shopping by women throughout history. Buy it.

The Virago Book of the Joy of Shopping

Some of us adore it, some of us live for it, some of us loathe it - but we all do it. SHOP. This is a book to celebrate the passion and the fear.

Beatrix Potter wove one of her most malicious tales around the roly-poly pudding. Colette counted the nuts she would pick before falling asleep in the French countryside. Dorothy Wordsworth noted her pie-making sessions in her diary and Anne Frank observed the eating habits of her companions in hiding. Food is a constant in our lives, and it has always been a basic ingredient of women's writing - in household books, cookbooks, diaries, letters and fiction. In this, the first anthology to concentrate on international food writing by women, you can go on a picnic with Monica Ali, learn about Frida Kahlo's wedding feast and indulge your appetites with Edwidge Danticat and Barbara Pym. Try making Elisabeth Luard's Afghan Betrothal Custard, Martha Washington's marzipan birds or Nigella Lawson's favourite comfort food. And why not sneak into the literary kitchens of Banana Yoshimoto, Emily Brontë and Angela Carter? Something's cooking. . .

Jill Foulston

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