Cooking Up the Nation: Spanish Culinary Texts and Culinary Nationalization in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century (Monografías A) (Volume 321)

The book is the first to analyse the textual construction of a national Spanish cuisine in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This book looks at the textual attempts to construct a national cuisine made in Spain at the turn of the last century. At the same time that attempts to unify the country were being made in law and narrated in fiction, Mariano Pardo de Figueroa (1828-1918) and José Castro y Serrano (1829-96), Angel Muro Goiri (1839 - 1897), Emilia Pardo Bazán (1851-1921) and Dionisio Pérez (1872-1935) all tried to find ways of bringing Spaniards together through a common language about food. In line with this nationalist goal, all of the texts examined in this book contain strategies and rhetoric typical of nineteenth-century nation-building projects. The nationalist agenda of these culinary textscomes as little surprise when we consider the importance of nation building to Spanish cultural and political life at the time of their publication. At this time Spaniards were forced to confront many questions relating to their national identity, such as the state's lackluster nationalizing policies, the loss of empire, national degeneration and regeneration and their country's cultural dependence on France. In their discussions about how to nationalize Spanish food, all of the authors under consideration here tap into these wider political and cultural issues about what it meant to be Spanish at this time. Lara Anderson is Lecturer in Spanish Studies at the Universityof Melbourne. This book looks at the textual attempts to construct a national cuisine made in Spain at the turn of the last century. At the same time that attempts to unify the country were being made in law and narrated in fiction, Mariano Pardo de Figueroa (1828-1918) and José Castro y Serrano (1829-96), Angel Muro Goiri (1839 - 1897), Emilia Pardo Bazán (1851-1921) and Dionisio Pérez (1872-1935) all tried to find ways of bringing Spaniards together through a common language about food. In line with this nationalist goal, all of the texts examined in this book contain strategies and rhetoric typical of nineteenth-century nation-building projects. The nationalist agenda of these culinary texts comes as little surprise when we consider the importance of nation building to Spanish cultural and political life at the time of their publication. At this time Spaniards were forced to confront many questions relating to their national identity, such as the state's lackluster nationalizing policies, the loss of empire, national degeneration and regeneration and their country's cultural dependence on France. In their discussions about how to nationalize Spanish food, all of the authors under consideration here tap into these wider political and cultural issues about what it meant to be Spanish at this time. Lara Anderson is Lecturer in Spanish Studies at the University of Melbourne El libro analiza los textos culinarios escritos a finales del siglo XIX y principios del XX que intentaron crear el concepto de "cocina española" como rasgo nacionalista que subrayara la unidad del país. El empeño unificador se manifestó en el derecho y en la novela donde autores como Mariano Pardo de Figueroa, José Castro y Serrano, Angel Muro Goiri, Emilia Pardo Bazán y Dionisio Pérez, alentaron la unidad de los españoles con la utilización de un lenguaje culinario común. El objetivo nacionalista de estos libros de cocina no nos sorprende cuando conocemos la crisis de indentidad nacional que aquejaba a los españoles de la época tras la pérdida del imperio y la dependencia cultural con Francia Introduction -- The Foodscape Of Late-nineteenth- And Early-twentieth-century Spain : Multiple Choices And French Hegemony -- The Emergence Of Spanish Culinary Nationalism : Dr Thebussem And The King's Chef -- Ángel Muro Goiri's Bestseller : Culinary Nationalization And Commercial Success -- Emilia Pardo Bazán : The Nationalization And Modernization/civilization Of Spanish Cuisine -- Post-thebussem : Regional Pluralism And The Re-vindication And Nationalization Of Spanish Cuisine -- Conclusion. Lara Anderson. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [152]-162) And Index.