Elizabeth David

Elizabeth David CBE was a British cookery writer who, in the mid20th century, strongly influenced the revitalisation of the art of home cookery with articles and books about European cuisines and traditional British dishes.

David was born Elizabeth Gwynne, the second of four children, all daughters, of Rupert Sackville Gwynne and the Hon. Stella Ridley, daughter of the 1st Viscount Ridley. Both parents families had considerable fortunes, the Gwynnes from engineering and land speculation, and the Ridleys from coal mining. Through the two families, David was of English, Scottish and Welsh or Irish descent, and, through an ancestor on her fathers side, also Dutch and Sumatran. David and her sisters grew up in Wootton Manor in Sussex, a Jacobean manor house with extensive modern additions by Detmar Blow. Her father, who had a weak heart, nevertheless insisted on pursuing a demanding political career, becoming Conservative MP for Eastbourne, and a junior minister in Andrew Bonar Laws government. Overwork, combined with his vigorous recreational pastimes, chiefly racing, riding and adultery, brought about his death in 1924, aged 51. Elizabeth and her sisters Priscilla, Diana and Felicit, who had little affectio

Source: Wikipedia