A Gothic Cookbook

Book excerpt: From Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, A Gothic Cookbook focuses on thirteen different Gothic stories and their edible motifs before bringing them to life—and to your table. Delicious yet devious, this cookbook is a culinary and literary delight. Dracula lulls protagonist Jonathan Harker into a false sense of security with cold cuts and a spicy, smoky, peppery stew. Frankenstein’s “monster” starts out as a benign vegetarian, while Mrs. Poole’s overindulgence in Mother’s Ruin triggers Mr. Rochester’s downfall in Jane Eyre – and a bitter tangerine signals a sharp, yet unheeded, warning against marriage and Manderley in Rebecca. Notice, too, how a ghostly presence craves sugar and burnt bread in Toni Morrison’s Beloved... Inspired by Dr Alessandra Pino’s academic studies into how food manifests itself on the pages of Gothic literature and combining her knife-sharp analysis with Ella Buchan’s experience as a food writer and recipe developer, A Gothic Cookbook pays homage to the most appetizing cuts of the genre, featuring over sixty original recipes illustrated by Lee Henry. Including recipes such as: Mina's Chicken Paprikash from Bram Stoker's Dracula That Very Special Gingerbread from Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca Acorn Bread inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein And many more