REVIEWER MEETS REVIEWED

SEMINAR SERIES AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM'S ANTHROPOLOGY LIBRARY AND RESEARCH CENTRE

The English Breakfast / The King’s Christmas Pudding

Thursday 5 December at 10.00 am (tea & coffee served from 9.30 am)

Anthropology Library and Research Centre, British Museum

THIS IS A FREE EVENT

In a departure from the normal format, the British Museum’s Anthropology Library and Research Centre, in
conjunction with the Royal Anthropological Institute, is pleased to present two papers by Dr Kaori O’Connor.
She will begin by talking about her book ‘The English breakfast’: there will then be a short break during which
it is hoped to serve a few ‘alternative’ Christmas ‘puddings’ from around the globe, after which she will finish
by talking about ‘The King’s Christmas pudding’.

The English breakfast had its heyday in the Victorian and Edwardian eras when grand breakfasts were served in country houses throughout the land. The book moves from this to the ‘devolved’ (Scottish, Welsh and Irish) breakfast, the renaissance of the English breakfast during financial crises and the rise of the working class ‘caff’.

In the interwar years, the King’s Christmas pudding, eaten by the Royal family at Sandringham, was a symbol of the unity of the Empire and an example to be copied by every household. All of its ingredients had to come from Empire countries and it was intended to boost Empire trade and identity.

Bookings/enquiries: Ted Goodliffe ( TGoodliffe@britishmuseum.org)