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Lilla Eckford, interned in a Japanese civilian camp in China during the second world war after an extraordinary early life, passed her time by compiling a book about the joys of food. This precious cookery book, now in the possession of the Imperial War Museum, inspired Lilla's great-granddaughter, Frances Osborne, to investigate her enthralling story. Lilla's "Feast" spans the world from China to India and finally to England over a hundred years, and blends together personal history, world events, period atmosphere and family anecdotes into a brilliantly vibrant and poignant story.

Reviews

"Passionately written and compelling, Frances Osborne's impressive debut is a wonderful read. The extraordinary life of this ordinary woman is a tumultuous feast of the senses" -- Santa Montefiore "Lilla's Feast is a wonderful, inspiring book, part page-turner, part history of the British Empire in the Far East, Frances Osborne perfectly captures the stories of a lost generation of women" -- Amanda Foreman "Osborne tells the story of her great-granny's life with page-turning brio" Sunday Telegraph "A wonderfully evocative, vivid, distilled book" Tatler "Powerfully imagined... Aromas of the spicy dishes Lilla learned to cook during her years in the Far East seem to cling to these pages, infusing the narrative with exoticism" The Times