William Black

William Black (13 November 1841 - 10 December 1898) was a novelist born in Glasgow, Scotland. During his own lifetime Black's novels were immensely popular, and were compared favourably with those of Anthony Trollope. However, his fame and popularity did not survive long into the twentieth century. William was born to James Black and his second wife Caroline Conning. He was educated to be a landscape painter, a training that influenced his literary life, and as a writer he became celebrated for the detailed and atmospheric descriptions of landscapes and seascapes in novels such as White Wings: A Yachting Romance (1880). At the age of twenty-three he went to London, after some experience with Glasgow journalism, and joined the staff of The Morning Star, and, later, the Daily News, of which journal he became assistant-editor. He wrote a weekly serial in "The Graphic". During the Austro-Prussian War he acted as a war correspondent.

In the spirit of Al Dente, The Land That Thyme Forgot will describe the intrepid gastronome's search for the heart and soul of Britain through the food we eat. William Black talks to producers, restaurateurs, visits the great and the awful, and seeks out the country's disappearing specialities - tripe, Singing Hinnies, solomongundy, Hindle wakes, Sussex Pond pudding and flummery. Great names, but who on earth still eats, let alone cooks, them? Britain has a very rich culinary tradition though it is only now that we seem ready to reclaim it. Our meat can be among the best, and the worst. The quality of our cheeses has improved exponentially over the past few years. Farmer's markets are thriving. Our restaurant culture is burgeoning, and we have almost got over those ancient Puritan diktats that pleasure is somehow just not what life is all about. So, perhaps even if we have been a little forgotten in the league of culinary greats, times really are a-changing. William goes in search of lobscouse in Liverpool, finds salmon in the Severn and cheddar in, well, Cheddar. This journey through the lost traditions of British cuisine is never less than fascinating. Prepare to be amazed . . .