The Downright Epicure

Edward Ashdown Bunyard (1878-1939) was England''s most well known pomologist (student of apples) and a significant gastronome and epicure in the 1920s and 30s. His family were the owners of one of England''s most significant fruit nurseries, founded in 1796 in Kent. In his written work, Bunyard was important for his enlightening explication of the charm of apples, as well as pears and other fruits. This volume of essays is written for the most part by Edward Wilson, fellow of Worcester College, Oxford, and Joan Morgan (currently England''s foremost authority on the history of apples), but with important contributions by Alan Bell (biographer of Sydney Smith and former Librarian of the London Library); Richard Sharp (formerly a Senior Research Fellow in History at Worcester College, Oxford); and Simon Hiscock (Reader in Botany at University of Bristol); the book is topped and tailed by poems from Arnd Kerkhecker (Professor of Classics at the University of Berne) and U.A. Fanthorpe. The studies include a biographical essay on Edward Bunyard and chapters about his friendship with Norman Douglas; his literary tastes; his scientific work in plant genetics and his relationship with the epicurean society.