Every day at noon in the dining hall of New College, Oxford in the 1770s, a feast was laid for students and the dons, clad in white waistcoats and wigs. They sat down to cod with oysters, ham, fowls, boiled beef, rabbits smothered with onions, mutton, veal collops, pork griskins, New College Puddings, mince pies, and roots (vegetables). That was only the first course. For the second course, they were served roast turkey, a haunch of venison, a brace of woodcocks, snipes, veal olives, trifle, blancmange, stewed pippins, and preserved quinces. Ralph Ayres was the genius behind this daily repast, and his choice recipes are chronicled here in "Ralph Ayres' Cookery Book,"
If you've ever wondered what a London Wigg was or why plum cake does not actually contain plums, "Ralph Ayres' Cookery Book" will prove to be a most rewarding collection. Here the details of sumptuous British meals are meticulously presented, as is their larger context in the history of cooking. Recipes for such famous dishes as Quaking Pudding, Oxford Sausages, Damson Preserve, and other savory English delights fill the pages. Some, such as the famous New College Pudding, are still used today. The volume is beautifully produced, featuring a wealth of full-color botanical illustrations and elegant script reproduced from the original text, and also includes an informative foreword by Bodleian emeritus librarian David Vaisey.
A captivating glimpse into the world of eighteenth-century food and the culture of academia's apex, "Ralph Ayres' Cookery Book" is a valuable and engaging historical chronicle of British cuisine. It will appeal to social and culinary historians, as well as to the many lovers of griskin andcollops.

Since its foundation in 1602, the Bodleian Library has acquired manuscripts, printed books, maps, music and ephemera in all languages, from all ages and from all corners of the globe. From this huge collection David Vaisey, former Bodley's Librarian and Keeper of the University Archives, has selected over one hundred treasures that have a story to tell. Many of these treasures are well-loved around the world and include Jane Austen's manuscript for The Watsons, Shelley's notebooks, a map of Narnia illustrated by C.S. Lewis and the original Wind in the Willows manuscript. Others are known for their beauty and historical value, such as the thirteenth-century Douce Apocalypse, the Magna Carta and the Gutenberg Bible. Many items hold poignant stories, like the little book hand-written by the eleven-year-old girl who would later become Queen Elizabeth I, given as a New Year present in 1545 to the third of her stepmothers, Katherine Parr. Using a simple and accessible chronological structure, together with detailed illustrations, this bibliophile's delight, now available in a stunning hardback edition, showcases the beauty and knowledge contained within the Bodleian Library's renowned collections.