"Writer M.F.K. Fisher, born in 1908 to an upper-middle-class American family, dabbled in various schools and made her society debut before marrying and heading to France to set up housekeeping. That she eventually abandoned her husband for her friend's husband, began writing about the art of eating and went on to become a distinctive literary and gastronomic stylist has created her image as a sensualist, but culinary historian Reardon finds that Fisher was actually 'self-absorbed,' and 'at times a destructive woman.' As if to demystify Fisher's sensualist image, Reardon details her life in workmanlike, almost sterile prose. Who stopped by for tea and who picked up the newspapers is followed by a sentence recording the suicide of Fisher's brother or a lover's death. On rare occasions when Reardon's opinion surfaces, it's usually negative: she disapproves of Fisher's child-rearing skills, of Fisher's affair with an older woman, of Fisher's open-door availability in the years before she died in 1992. Scholars may find this volume useful, but devotees of Fisher's writing will find that one big question still remains: how did a woman with such straightlaced roots become one of the world's most delightfully irreverent bon vivantes? Photos. (Oct.) Forecast: An excerpt in the September issue of Gourmet should boost sales among culinary-minded readers." Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Reardon's approach to her complex subject is wonderfully clearheaded — she's appreciative without being worshipful — and her prose is so graceful, sensitive and dignified that it would have satisfied even a stylist like Fisher." Laura Shapiro, The New York Times Book Review

"Reardon's account of Fisher's life makes for a rewarding but dense read." Kirkus Reviews

Christened by John Updike as the "poet of the appetites," M.F.K. Fisher changed the way Americans understood the art of living. But like many master stylists, she was also a master mythologizer. This multifaceted portrayal is no less memorable than the personae Fisher crafted for herself.

Joan Reardon is the author of four previous books, including M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, and Alice Waters, which was nominated for a Julia Child Award. She lives in Lake Forest, Illinois.