[Sca-cooks] Two New (to me) Books

[Wanda Pease]

I recently got my January 2009 copy of Speculum: A Journal of Medieval
Studies (Never, never Google the word Speculum if this is what you are
looking for.  Particularly not on your work computer when you Know Big
Brother is Watching!)

While the main Essays are usually a bit beyond my reading level the largest
part is made up of reviews of new books and collections that are coming out.
The publish or perish bug certainly exposes the incredibly wide gamut of
scholarly interests out there.  It has helped me purchase, or not purchase
several books.

In the very back are advertisements from University and other presses of
books they are about to bring out that aren't reviewed.  I spotted two that
I wanted to ask if anyone had any opinions on.  If not the books, then the
authors or editors.  They are:

The Medieval Cook, Bridget Ann Henisch from Boydell and Brewer  "The figure
of the medieval cook revealed in the context of time and circumstances."
Unlikely to be fiction in this venue. ($47.95 but Amazon has it for $31.00

The second is a new translation of Le' Me'nagier de Paris - titled The God
Wife's Guide, translated by Gina L. Greco and Christine M. Rose.
"This new-and first complete-English translation of the Managier makes
available to a broad audience one of the key texts for our understanding of
late medieval mentalities.  It's lively language, excellent introduction,
and copious notes make this guide to good living in every sense useful to
students, scholars, and anyone interested in medieval culture."  CORNELL
University Press (Also going to be available from Amazon at $24.95)

I have the Menagier in a couple of translations, but I think one has the
recopies and the other the lectures to the young wife - Powers and the other
which has gone into hiding (sigh).

Recommendations?  Has anyone seen these?  Maybe at Kalamazoo?

Regina

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