Kirjahaku

Not everyone keeps an eagle owl in the spare bedroom cupboard, plays chess for the French Foreign Legion, or goes to school on an obstinate donkey. But this was all just a day in the life of the four Luard children. For the Luards, growing up as their family travelled across Europe, life was a series of adventures. Yet no family is immune to tragedy, and in Francesca, the eldest of three daughters, we find a true heroine. Honest, perceptive and passionate, she tells her own story – until she can tell it no more. Full of anecdotes and peppered with their favourite recipes, Family Life is an extraordinary story of joy, grief and, above all – love. Elisabeth Luard gives a truthful and moving mother’s account of their unconventional, unforgettable tale.

When her children flew the nest, Elisabeth Luard decided it was time to discover new worlds, beyond the family. As a prize-winning food writer, she chose to explore through her cookery. Guided by a trail of enticing aromas and flavours, Luard travels from kitchen to field to restaurant, taking us on a journey that criss-crosses the globe, from the gastronomic delights of the Bosphorus to life in the Arctic circle and the glitzy cuisine of Hollywood. Full of the sparkling anecdotes of the people she meets, and scattered with exotic recipes picked up along the way, Elisabeth Luard provides a window into fragile, often vanishing, ways of life as she explores new countries through the kitchens, market places and traditions of the locals. Funny, uplifting and insightful, Still Life offers a fresh look at the world outside the family.