Eliza Acton, despite having never before boiled an egg, became one of the world’s most successful cookery writers, revolutionizing cooking and cookbooks around the world. Her story is fascinating, uplifting and truly inspiring.

Told in alternate voices by the award-winning author of The Joyce Girl, and with recipes that leap to life from the page, The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs is the most thought-provoking and page-turning historical novel you’ll read this year, exploring the enduring struggle for female freedom, the power of female friendship, the creativity and quiet joy of cooking and the poetry of food, all while bringing Eliza Action out of the archives and back into the public eye.

A revelatory exploration of insomnia which shows how women throughout history have found healing, creativity and courage at night - and how you can too. In the winter of 2020, Annabel Abbs experienced a series of bereavements. In the wake of this grief, Annabel kept herself frenetically busy by day - organising funeral arrangements, caring for her children - but by night, she couldn't sleep. A more profound wakefulness than Annabel had ever experienced before, this period of sleeplessness led to an unexpected revelation: her Night Self. Once Annabel stopped fighting her insomnia, the night became a place of creativity, reflection and liberation - as it has been for women throughout history. From the radical fifteenth-century astronomer Laura Cereta, to subversive artist Louise Bourgeois, to Virginia Woolf, to the activist Peace Pilgrim who walked day and night across America for twenty-eight years, women have found sanctuary, inspiration and even power in darkness. Journeying from the darkest corner of the Arctic Circle to Singapore, the brightest city on Earth, Annabel sets out to discover her Night Self through travelling, drawing, writing, stargazing, night-swimming and more. Free from the anxiety of getting 'eight hours', Sleepless shows that embracing the night can open up a whole world of possibilities - even, perhaps, sleep.

'A sensual feast of a novel, written with elegance, beauty, charm and skill in a voice that is both lyrical and unique. The Language of Food is an intriguing story with characters that leap off the page and live, but what sets it apart from it's contemporaries is Abbs' outstanding prose' Santa Montefiore Eliza Acton, despite having never before boiled an egg, became one of the world's most successful cookery writers, revolutionizing cooking and cookbooks around the world. Her story is fascinating, uplifting and truly inspiring. Told in alternate voices by the award-winning author of The Joyce Girl, and with recipes that leap to life from the page, The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs is the most thought-provoking and page-turning historical novel you'll read this year, exploring the enduring struggle for female freedom, the power of female friendship, the creativity and quiet joy of cooking and the poetry of food, all while bringing Eliza Action out of the archives and back into the public eye. 'I love Abbs's writing and the extraordinary, hidden stories she unearths. Eliza Acton is her best discovery yet' Clare Pooley 'A feast for the senses, rich with the flavours of Victorian England, I prepared every dish with Eliza and Ann and devoured every page. A literary - and culinary - triumph!' Hazel Gaynor 'Exhilarating to read - thoughtful, heart-warming and poignant, with a quiet intelligence and elegance that does its heroine proud' Bridget Collins 'A sumptuous banquet of a book that nourished me and satisfied me just as Eliza Acton's meals would have... I adored it' Polly Crosby 'An effervescent novel, bursting with delectable language and elegant details about cookbook writer, Eliza Acton. Don't miss this intimate glimpse into the early English kitchens and snapshot of food history' Sara Dahmen 'Wonderful... Abbs is such a good story teller. She catches period atmosphere and character so well' Vanessa Nicolson 'Two of my favourite topics in one elegantly written novel - women's lives and food history. I absolutely loved it' Polly Russell 'A story of courage, unlikely friendship and an exceptional character, told in vibrant and immersive prose' Caroline Scott 'Richly imagined and emotionally tender' Pen Vogler 'Characters that leap off the page, a fascinating story and so much atmosphere, you feel you're in the kitchen with Eliza - I loved it.' Frances Quinn 'I was inspired by Eliza's passion, her independence, her bravery and ambition. Like a cook's pantry, The Language of Food is full of wonderful ingredients, exciting possibilities and secrets. Full of warmth and as comforting as sitting by the kitchen range, I loved it' Jo Thomas 'A delightful read' Nina Pottell 'Clever, unsentimental, beautifully detailed and quietly riveting' Elizabeth Buchan, author of Two Women in Rome 'A wonderful read' John Torode England 1835. Eliza Acton is a poet who dreams of seeing her words in print. But when she takes her new manuscript to a publisher, she's told that 'poetry is not the business of a lady'. Instead, they want her to write a cookery book. That's what readers really want from women. England is awash with exciting new ingredients, from spices to exotic fruits. But no one knows how to use them Eliza leaves the offices appalled. But when her father is forced to flee the country for bankruptcy, she has no choice but to consider the proposal. Never having cooked before, she is determined to learn and to discover, if she can, the poetry in recipe writing. To assist her, she hires seventeen-year-old Ann Kirby, the impoverished daughter of a war-crippled father and a mother with dementia. Over the course of ten years, Eliza and Ann developed an unusual friendship - one that crossed social classes and divides - and, together, they broke the mould of traditional cookbooks and changed the course of cookery writing forever.

The story of extraordinary women who lost their way - their sense of self, their identity, their freedom - and found it again through walking in the wild. 'Moving and memorable' Virginia Nicholson, author of How Was It for You? 'A triumph ... I felt as though I were being lifted, carried up to peaks' Charlotte Peacock, author of Into the Mountain: A Life of Nan Shepherd 'A beautiful and meditative memoir' Publishers Weekly For centuries, the wilds have been male territory, while women sat safely confined at home. But not all women did as they were told, despite the dangers; history reveals women for whom rural walking became inspiration, consolation and liberation. In this powerful and deeply inspiring book, Annabel Abbs uncovers women who refused to conform, who recognised a biological, emotional and artistic need for wilderness, water and desert - and who took the courageous step of walking unpeopled and often forbidding landscapes. Part wild-walk, part memoir, Windswept follows an exhilarating journey from Abbs's isolated, car-less childhood to her walking the remote paths trodden by extraordinary women, including Georgia O'Keeffe in the empty plains of Texas and New Mexico, Nan Shepherd in the mountains of Scotland, Gwen John following the Garonne, Simone de Beauvoir in the mountains and forests of France and Daphne du Maurier along the River Rhone. A single question pulses through their walks: How does a woman change once she becomes windswept?

A revelatory exploration of insomnia which shows how women throughout history have found healing, creativity and courage at night - and how you can too. In the winter of 2020, Annabel Abbs experienced a series of bereavements. In the wake of this grief, Annabel kept herself frenetically busy by day - organising funeral arrangements, caring for her children - but by night, she couldn't sleep. A more profound wakefulness than Annabel had ever experienced before, this period of sleeplessness led to an unexpected revelation: her Night Self. Once Annabel stopped fighting her insomnia, the night became a place of creativity, reflection and liberation - as it has been for women throughout history. From the radical fifteenth-century astronomer Laura Cereta, to subversive artist Louise Bourgeois, to Virginia Woolf, to the activist Peace Pilgrim who walked day and night across America for twenty-eight years, women have found sanctuary, inspiration and even power in darkness. Journeying from the darkest corner of the Arctic Circle to Singapore, the brightest city on Earth, Annabel sets out to discover her Night Self through travelling, drawing, writing, stargazing, night-swimming and more. Free from the anxiety of getting 'eight hours', Sleepless shows that embracing the night can open up a whole world of possibilities - even, perhaps, sleep.

A TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH AND PICK OF THE YEAR The extraordinary story of Frieda von Richthofen, wife of D. H. Lawrence and the inspiration for Lady Chatterley's Lover. 'Effervescent' The Times 'A convincing evocation of a remarkable woman' Sunday Times 'Clever and deeply humane' Observer 'A lush and absorbing portrait of a fascinating woman who refused to compromise on what really matters: to be known, to love, to be beloved' Polly Clark, author of Larchfield Germany, 1907 Aristocrat Frieda von Richthofen has rashly married English professor Ernest Weekley. Visiting her sisters in Munich, she is captivated by a city alive with ideas of revolution and free love, and, goaded by sibling rivalry with her sisters and the need to be more than mother and wife, Frieda embarks on a passionate affair that is her sensual and intellectual awakening. England, 1912 Trapped in her marriage to Ernest, Frieda meets the penniless but ambitious younger writer D. H. Lawrence. Their scandalous affair and tempestuous relationship unleashes a creative outpouring that influences the course of literature forever. But for Frieda, this fulfilment comes at a terrible personal cost. 'Hard to put down thanks to its heroine's audacity and strength' Stylist 'Another absolutely superb novel from Annabel Abbs' Historical Novel Society 'An incredible piece of storytelling' The Lady 'A compassionately imagined tale' Daily Mail 'Fascinating' Red