First published in 1992, Wedding Cakes and Cultural History is a unique contribution to the anthropology of food, tracing the fascinating history of wedding cakes, from late medieval feasts and rites, through the Victorian wedding breakfast and into the 1990s. Dr. Charsley maps the intricate creation of the wedding cake and explores its uses and meanings. He shows that the wedding cake provides a vivid illustration of the traditions and traditional values inherent in all foods and demonstrates the part that material culture plays in the process of change. Challenging in its ideas, yet approachable in style and subject matter, this book will be of great interest to students and teachers of anthropology, sociology and cultural studies.
List of illustrations Foreword Preface 1. The British wedding cake in the late twentieth century 2. How distinctive is the British cake? 3. Cultural creation: myth, history and language 4. When the wedding cake was not yet and might never have been 5. Great cakes, plum(b) cakes and bride cakes 6. Confectionery and icing 7. The rise of the Victorian cake and its successors 8. Uses and their evolution 9. Meanings and interpretation 10. Towards a theory of cultural change? Postscript Notes Bibliography Index
Biography
Simon R. Charsley
