From Absinthe to Zest: An Alphabet for Food Lovers (Alexandre Dumas)

As well as being the author of The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas was also an enthusiastic gourmand and expert cook.

His Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine, published in 1873, is an encyclopedic collection of ingredients, recipes and anecdotes, from Absinthe to Zest via cake, frogs' legs, oysters, Roquefort and vanilla. Included here are recipes for bamboo pickle and strawberry omelette, advice on cooking all manner of beast from bear to kangaroo, all brought together in a witty and gloriously eccentric culinary compendium.