Gray’s A Greedy Queen to Profile

Profile Books has acquired historian Annie Gray’s history of the royal kitchens in the 19th Century, A Greedy Queen: Eating with Queen Victoria. 

Profile acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Tim Bates at Pollinger.

Through a detailed look at the Queen's meals, and using the stories of the people who worked for her, A Greedy Queen will explore Victoria’s relationship with food and its impact on 19th century society. It will use recipes, menus and archival material to chart the changes in dining style at the court and Britain at large.

Gray said: "I'm really looking forward to publishing A Greedy Queen with Profile Books. As a historian, I've been immersed in the delicious world of 19th century food for many years, and who better to write about than a woman who consumed such a vast amount of it? I can't wait to get my teeth into the Queen's dinners."

Rebecca Gray, commissioning editor at Profile, said: "Annie Gray pulls out a chair at Queen Victoria’s table as a way to explain the huge changes in eating habits that took place across society during her reign. With a serious amount of new research, characteristic strong opinions and inside-out knowledge of the period, Annie’s book will be a delight to read and to publish. And also, in homage to the queen herself, there promises to be lots of cake."

Gray is a historian, cook and broadcaster who specialises in the history of food and dining in Britain from around 1600 to the present day. 

The book will be published in spring 2017.