R. A unique work of literary and culinary joie de vivre, part food memoir,part recipe book, French Cooking for One is Michele Roberts' firstcookbook, and a personal and quirky take on Edouard de Pomiane's ten-minutecooking classic. Once a food writer for the New Statesman, Roberts wasborn in 1949 and raised in a bilingual French-English household, learning tocook from her French grandparents in Normandy.

Her love of food and cookery hasalways shone through in her novels and short stories. French cuisine, classic though it is, stillholds delicious surprises. From quick bites for busy days to sumptuous maincourses for those who enjoy spending more time in the kitchen, the focusthroughout is on dishes that are simple and fun to prepare, and results thatare mouthwatering to contemplate and, of course, to eat.

With over 160 delicious recipes, the majorityof which are vegetarian, combined with piquant storytelling and feminist wit,French Cooking for One is a working cook's book with French flair, burstingwith life and illustrated with the author's original ink drawings, full ofcharm and humour. More than a handbook of classic Frenchdishes, French Cooking for One does something that few, if any,cookbooks do: it bears testimony to a singular literary life. Gorgeouslywritten vignettes of Roberts' childhood in Normandy and of her years living inPays de la Loire are peppered with anecdotes about intellectual and artisticluminaries: an omelette prepared by Gertrude Stein's cook for Picasso; a simplepasta dish calling to mind the French philosopher Julia Kristeva and theScottish poet Alison Fell's images of female orgasm; and Emma Bovary'sextraordinary wedding cake, among others.