Food Matters

Through an inventive and original engagement with Don Quixote and other Golden Age literature, Carolyn A. Nadeau explores the shifts in Spain’s cultural and gastronomic history.

Carolyn A. Nadeau is a Byron S. Tucci Professor of Spanish at Illinois Wesleyan University.

“Carolyn Nadeau’s book is a fascinating inquiry into the eating practices of the evolving Spanish nation. Parsing the opening paragraph of Cervantes’ Don Quixote for continued sustenance, she demonstrates food’s importance in the creation of social national identity as well as in the greatest novel of all time.”

Adrienne L. Martín, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, University of California, Davis:

“This is a highly original study of early modern cultural and literary history through an examination of early modern gastronomical practices. Delving into a wide array of sources, from cookbooks and advice manuals to travel logs and classical works of fiction, the book elucidates how food matters to the construction of identity, social class, and the development of fiction. A compelling and unique contribution to our understanding of Spain’s culinary heritage.”

Enrique García Santo-Tomas, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, University of Michigan:

“Food Matters is not only a study about food in early modern Spain, but also a reflection on how eating and drinking became symbols and makers of class, ethnicity, and what it meant to be ‘Spanish.’ This is interdisciplinary research that will delight the social historian and the literary critic in equal parts.”