Tea at Trianon: A Hobbit's Feast

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Saturday, August 13, 2022

A Hobbit's Feast

From Rhubarb and Lavender:

In 1937 English author J.R.R. Tolkien published a short novel called The Hobbit and introduced generations of readers to the magic and splendour of Middle Earth. It would be almost twenty years later before Tolkien would publish his much longer novel, The Lord of the Rings, and change the landscape of fantasy fiction forever. Twenty years ago the release of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy would introduce this beloved story to an even wider audience and people everywhere would fall in love with the curious and charming halflings called hobbits.

My introduction to The Lord of the Rings came at a very young age when my father would read it to me before bed. I was almost too young to even remember the story but I do remember begging my father to keep reading. I have read The Lord of the Rings many times since then and seen the movies too many times to count (or admit to!) and my love for this story has only grown.

For all the other Tolkien fans out there, I offer this Hobbit’s feast – a culinary journey through the foods of Middle Earth. Whether it’s for an evening party or a full-day movie marathon (extended edition only!) I hope you will find inspiration here to bring the foods of Middle Earth to your table. (Read more.)