An engaging and offbeat exploration of the tea trade by English travel-writer Goodwin, whose two grandmothers—Granny Eileen with her tea caddy from India, filled with Keemun and Lapsang Souchong; Granny Goodwin with her tea caddy from China, filled with Assam and Darjeeling—gave him an early introduction to the ritual and romance of tea. Goodwin's journey around the tea trade, which has left its ``scattered trail across the atlases and the history books,'' begins in Hong Kong, where he tracks down the elusive and eccentric ``Professor Tea.'' Then it's on to mainland China for stops in the once-busy tea-trading ports of Canton, Amoy, and Fuzhou; in the Wuyi Mountains, home of the first tea known in Europe; and in Hangzhou, capital of the green tea province. Goodwin carries with him a small library on tea, dipping into it from time to time to share stories, facts, and other choice bits with the reader. A skilled traveler as well as a talented writer, he develops contacts and picks their brains everywhere he goes— no small feat in China. Then he heads for Calcutta (detouring briefly in the Boston of 1773—for Goodwin journeys through both space and time), where the world's biggest tea auctions are held. He visits the tea gardens of Darjeeling and the Dooars for a fascinating look at how tea is grown and processed in postimperial India. Finally, the journey ends in London, giving Goodwin the opportunity for a brief but delightful sketch of the social history of tea in Great Britain. Entertaining and elegant—perhaps not everyone's cup of tea, but boasting far more flavor than the average travel book.
Pub Date: Sept. 9, 1991
ISBN: 0-394-57941-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1991
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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