Jim Chevallier

When is "medieval food" not medieval food? When it means (as it usually does) the food of a few centuries out of a millenium - from the thirteenth to the fifteenth (and sometimes even beyond). But the Middle Ages began in the fifth century; what happened to all the food BEFORE the thirteenth century? If you're wondering, this is the book for you. "Feasting with the Franks" takes a detailed look at the food of the Franks; that is, the Merovingians and the Carolingians, the first medieval dynasties in France. It surveys the food and drink available during these early centuries in France, then shows how particular groups selected their diets from it, going on to take a look at how food was prepared and served, and at the tableware (made from pottery, glass, marble, silver, gold). Beyond this, the book explores the personnel and entertainments around dining, the structures built to store, produce, cook and bake food, the surviving cities and infrastructure which helped provide it, the role it played in religion and finally how it was viewed by medicine then but also through today's nutritional ideas. A closing chapter compares this food to the more familiar medieval food of later centuries. As a bonus, an appendix explains how to actually MAKE some of these dishes. Whether you study the Middle Ages in general or like exploring historical food, this is a whole new view of the era and its food, and fills a long ignored gap.

Paris has played a unique role in world gastronomy, influencing cooks and gourmets across the world. It has served as a focal point not only for its own cuisine, but for regional specialties from across France. For tourists, its food remains one of the great attractions of the city itself. Yet the history of this food remains largely unknown. A History of the Food of Paris brings together archaeology, historical records, memoirs, statutes, literature, guidebooks, news items, and other sources to paint a sweeping portrait of the city’s food from the Neanderthals to today’s bistros and food trucks. The colorful history of the city’s markets, its restaurants and their predecessors, of immigrant food, even of its various drinks appears here in all its often surprising variety, revealing new sides of this endlessly fascinating city.

Le Grand d'Aussy traces French bread history from the first Tameliers and Fourniers to the Boulangers whose bread evolved from a simple boule to the pains mollet of the seventeenth century and the long breads which already began to replace round breads in the eighteenth century. Along the way he looks at the different types of bread, typically made from wheat, and also the other grains and even other products which were used to make bread. He then presents the history of French pastry, which began, essentially, as meat pies and other foods cooked in pastry before evolving into a dizzying array of tarts, wafers, nieules, ratons, cassemuseaux, flans, rissoles, beignets, marzipan and other treats. This leads naturally enough into the subject of sweets, of various spices and fruits preserved in sugar and honey, sweet pastes, nougat, macaroons and other treats sometimes eaten after dinner and sometimes all through the day. Along the way, as always, Le Grand draws on a rich variety of older sources, studding his inventories of facts with colorful anecdotes. The result is itself a rich box of tasty treats.

This playful collection of 14 original monologues gives voice to characters and observers from the 18th century French fairs. Before the Revolution, these were a prime source of entertainment for people of all classes. Among those who speak in these monologues are a man with two heads, a rope dancer, a strong woman, a marionettist, a tumbler, a "turner" and various presenters of mechanical or animal exhibits. All of the subjects, even the most unlikely, actually existed in Pre-Revolutionary France. As imagined here, their voices are ribald, resentful, poignant, pensive, cocky, exuberant, and introduce the reader to both the color and variety and some behind the scenes human drama of the once immensely popular Old Regime fairs. This second edition (and first print edition) includes an appendix with glimpses of the inspirations for these pieces.

Simon Bolivar said of Eloy Demarquet: "Demarquet does not know how to lie or slander; I believe him loyal and sincere". Though this French officer, a veteran of Napoleon's wars, is rarely mentioned in works on Bolivar, the latter's correspondence documents the close relationship between the two men and the high esteem in which Demarquet was held not only by his leader, but by others in Bolivar's circle. Even after Bolivar's death, Demarquet continued to serve Ecuador before returning to France. He left descendants in both countries, several of whom made names for themselves. This volume brings together scattered information from a wide variety of different sources to tell the memorable - and largely lost - story of this little known figure in the struggle for Latin American independence and to trace the paths of some of his descendants. This second edition (and first print edition) includes additional information and images.

This original collection includes a number of poems on Paris, the Seine, the gargoyles of Notre Dame, the shifting moods of the city and the nostalgia it inspires. A quirky homage to garlic ("Saloon") is followed by a number of poems on great art (Picasso, Renoir, Japanese prints). The collection ends with an elegy to the author's mother. The same collection is also available on CD.

Where did the baguette come from? A simple enough question, but this search for an answer ranges from the long breads of Babylon and Egypt to the first long (but wide) breads in France to the gradual evolution of long narrow breads from the eighteenth into the twentieth century, resulting in both the roll-sized "flute" and the gigantic jockos of the nineteenth century. Strangely, there are those today who claim the baguette is not French, but a foreign import. Here you will find the 'genealogy' of the baguette, its long evolution in French itself and confirmation of its profoundly French character.

"Your heart's pounding, you sweat, and you feel like you're going to vomit..." Tom CruiseTom Cruise is far from the only celebrity to overcome bullying to attain huge success. If bullying is a problem for many in high school, it is even more of a problem for those who are different - which often means those who are particularly gifted in some way. What a bully makes a curse may later turn to be a great gift. But too many young people give up before that can happen, turning to substance abuse or even suicide. This collection of monologues looks at this national problem from many different points of view: those of the victims and the bullies, of teachers and parents, of bystanders who may or may not step in. It focuses on high school, but also looks at how bullying occurs in college and the adult world, and at the scars it may leave years later. The book is intended both for actors and for those who want to make others aware of the issues around an experience that is too familiar to too many. This first print edition includes additional pieces for young women.

This collection of very brief, original scenes for two people presents examples of the kinds of situations frequently seen in television shows such as police and hospital dramas and sitcoms: a doctor revealing test results to a patient, a detective interrogating a suspect, a character scheming to deceive a friend... These are meant for short class exercises and as samples of the sort of situations often seen on TV. Each section is preceded by a discussion of the situations or locations in question and their use in such shows. Whether you are an actor looking for a scene to work on in class or a writer who would like to write for TV, this collection has a wealth of scenes and subjects to offer you.

The Bastille is most known for being destroyed - it has endured as a symbol of absolute power that fell to popular anger. But few people, even in France, know anything about the actual prison, notably what it was like inside and the details of how the prisoners were really treated. As it happens, Linguet, once quite famous as a lawyer and journalist, was not only in it, but wrote about the experience, and did so only a few years before it fell - some of have said this book provoked its fall. Certainly it helped raise popular indignation against what many Parisians knew only as a looming presence at the end of one of its main streets. Ironically, most of what Linguet describes is less sinister than many ideas people had then and some still have now of the prison - its very secrecy made it seem more ominous. An accomplished journalist, Linguet describes arrival at the prison, the rooms, the furniture, the food, the guards, the rules, the chapel, even the clock (which showed two chained figures) and a wealth of other details. His own description of the castle is an enduring classic. But this annotated edition adds a great deal of additional information, even describing the various types of toilets in the cells. Extensive footnotes offer additional background and explanations of Linguet's references. This edition also includes an appendix with examples of input and exit forms, a description of the entire complex, two annotated views of the Bastille complex, a closer look at the meals served there and another prisoner's letter, with further descriptions of the conditions there, as well as an extensive bibliography. Whether your interest is in the French Revolution, the Old Regime, the history of prisons, or the forgotten but fascinating Linguet himself, this modern edition of an eighteenth century classic offers a wealth of material. NOTE: This edition is identical with that previously published by Jim Chevallier; the work has been retitled to distinguish it from standard public domain versions without annotation.

In Pre-Revolutionary France, sodomy (in all its different meanings) was, in theory, a capital crime, whether practiced between men (sodomites), women (tribads), heterosexual couples or (since it included masturbation) alone. In practice, most sodomy cases involved men, though this collection includes two legal cases involving women with a "monstrous attachment" to their own sex and a general glance at "unnatural" practices between heterosexuals. In some famous cases - Chausson and Fabri, Deschauffours, Pascal, etc. - the men were indeed burned at the stake, though most (not all) of these cases also involved crimes of violence. But more often, those arrested were exiled, locked up or... sent to a regiment. This second volume of the Old Regime Police Blotter - a series of period sourcebooks - presents a number of these cases, including, for the first time in English, most of the trial transcripts for the Chausson and Deschauffours cases and extensive material from the abb Desfontaines' case (which briefly involved Voltaire), as well as an overview of Old Regime law on this subject and a look at some of the applicable slang. A rich parade of characters - some sordid, some admirable, some a touch comic - appears in this material, as well as a great deal of very human drama.

Yes, an Austrian brought the croissant to France - but it wasn't Marie-Antoinette. In 1839, the Parisian press began to mention a new "Viennese Bakery" and its "exquisite and crisp rolls". Zang, its founder, had been an artillery officer and would become a press magnate. In his short time in Paris, he not only introduced the "kipfel" - the Austrian crescent roll - but techniques which would later make the baguette possible. This is a brief look at his bakery and its influence on French baking and at his later career as "the father of the Austrian daily press". This second edition includes a look at the rue de Richelieu and changes in Paris shops.

A collection of original monologues, exploring the issues around suicide from multiple viewpoints. Grouped into four sections, for use individually (for class, performance, auditions, etc.) or as a complete production.

Original pre-Revolutionary vegetarian recipes, most newly translated from French, in a selection inspired by a menu prepared for a fast or "meager" day, when no meat was allowed. Includes eighteenth century preparations for onions, lentils, asparagus, peas, almonds, mushrooms, morels, beans, artichokes, cabbage, spinach and truffles, as well as sweet djshes such as apple beignets and creme brul e, and a number of stocks, sauces and doughs. Also includes an essay on "Vegetarians in Eighteenth Century France", exploring the supposed vegetarianism of figures like Voltaire and Rousseau, as well as religious communities and the more general population. An entertaining resource for historical cooks, culinary historians and vegetarians alike.

Thirty teen voices - flirting, mocking, musing, some fun, some serious, some colorful, some plain, on subjects as different as loss, texting and (yes) spaceships. More monologues for practice, class, audition and performance from Jim Chevallier, author of "Monologues for Teens and Twenties". NOTE: Certain of these pieces - based on experiences of actual teens - address difficult issues which may be considered "Adult" by some readers.