Word of Mouth TV

One Enchanted Evening – Charlotte Smith

2019-02-09T23:09:29+11:00Categories: News|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Kate's review
In 2004, Charlotte Smith inherited more than 3,000 vintage couture gowns from her Quaker godmother, Doris Darnell, who had spent a lifetime gathering her collection, which spanned 250 years of fashion. Every single piece had been given to her, by friends who knew of her passion and by strangers who wanted their old and precious clothes to be properly cared for. Doris Darnell also bequeathed her god-daughter her notebooks, which detailed the history of each item. She described these histories as "fascinating stories, sometimes full of joy, other times grief, sometimes bitterness, other times heartache."

Didion on congee and food for the grieving soul

2019-02-09T22:28:11+11:00Categories: Literary Food Moments|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Iconic literary food moments
In honour of our fashion episode for Charlotte Smith's One Enchanted Evening, we have chosen a quote from style-icon Joan Didion because few people have managed to marry fashion, food and literature so well. Didion was an author of both literature and cookbooks, and kick-started her writing career on the pages of Vogue. She experienced great sadness in her life, losing both her husband and her daughter, the latter dying at just 39 year’s of age, but she never lost her connection with fashion and words. The quote we have chosen comes from her novel The Year of Thinking Magically, when Didion muses on the power of food to comfort and console.

Straight from the authors’ mouths

2019-02-09T12:01:12+11:00Categories: News|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Recommended reads
Hopefully you've chewed through all those novels gifted at Christmas and are ready to jump into the 2019 reading year. As the saying goes, there's no rest for the wicked! Word of Mouth TV has three new book and three new cookbook recommendations which will surely take you through to the next episode in March. Guest author Charlotte Smith, a fashion anthropologist, recommends The Riviera Set - a portrait of high society between 1920 and 1960 and the authors who partied with them. And her cookbook recommendation is equally glamorous. Kate and Sarah serve up their favourites as well. Happy reading!

Charlotte Smith’s absolutely fabulous giveaway

2019-02-01T17:47:10+11:00Categories: Giveaway|Tags: , , , , , , , |

One Enchanted Evening
Thanks to publisher Affirm Press, and authors Charlotte Smith, Kate Forsyth and S.L. Mills, Word of Mouth TV has two more book packs to give away this week to kick of what promises to be an absolutely fabulous 2019. Charlotte Smith's One Enchanted Evening leads this episode's oeuvre. It is a book for fashionistas and story lovers everywhere. Charlotte points out that every piece of fashion has its own story, as do so many of the beautiful items we collect in our lives. Each dress from Charlotte's extensive collection was chosen for its story, and we hope you enjoy the beautiful illustrations as well.

Episode 10: Charlotte Smith: One Enchanted Evening

2019-02-01T22:09:08+11:00Categories: Episodes|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Some might argue that Charlotte Smith is one of the luckiest women on earth. Bequeathed the world's largest vintage haute couture fashion collection by her Quaker aunt, she has written a delightfully illustrated book One Enchanted Evening that celebrates some of these gorgeous dresses. In a nod to Charlotte's British heritage we served a beautiful high tea - and then went to check out the fashion. We had so much fun, we hope you do too!

Daphne du Maurier’s Christmas feast in Cornwall

2018-12-26T09:17:46+11:00Categories: News, Recipes|Tags: , , , , , |

Iconic literary food moments
One of our recommended reads for the Josephine Moon episode was Daphne du Maurier's My Cousin Rachel - suspense on steroids. The book is full of food, herbs and tisannes, which in the hands of the irresistible Rachel are weapons of power - rituals that lift the world from the mundane to the sublime. The Christmas dinner is one of the most memorable scenes in the book, highlighting how life can shift around a dinner table; and to honour the mix of Italian and Cornish influences, we have created a pasty bolognaise.

Josephine Moon’s terrifically tasty Tuscan bean soup

2018-11-17T15:34:00+11:00Categories: Recipes|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Portrait of a recipe
Josephine Moon prefers gluten-free and dairy free dining - which is a bit of a challenge when dining Italian. So we settled on this simple, elegant and oh-so satisfying Tuscan Bean Soup, with Parmesan cheese on the side. This is perfect dining in warm Autumnal weather. Pair it with a delicious glass of wine, good company and a beautiful table-setting and you will be transported to the golden, rolling hills of Italy. It's so easy to prepare, it's become a staple on our repertoire of soups.

Josephine Moon shares her love of food and Italy

2018-11-17T13:41:18+11:00Categories: News|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Author Q&A
Josephine Moon reveals herself as something of a foodie in our author Q&A. Not only does food play a central role in all of her novels but at home as well, where she lives on acreage with her family and horses. She also gives us a sneak peak into her next novel, to be published in March, which is themed around coffee (for coffee addicts everywhere!), and shares some of her mother's tips on how to make the perfect potato salad. We'll be incorporating these tips into our Christmas repertoire this year for sure.

Three Gold Coins – Josephine Moon

2018-11-16T17:18:04+11:00Categories: News|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Kate's review
A warm-hearted contemporary tale set in Australia and Italy, Three Gold Coins is the first book written by Josephine Moon that I have read but it won’t be the last. I just loved the skilful twisting together of romance and suspense, chick-lit and family drama. This is a novel which celebrates family ties, food and the importance of kindness, all things which I passionately believe in.

 Josephine Moon sensitively explores themes of depression and mental illness, psychological abuse and violence, which give her story extra gravitas to balance the charm.

Josephine Moon’s romantic and delicious giveaway

2018-11-16T17:05:23+11:00Categories: Giveaway|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Three Gold Coins
Thanks to publisher Allen & Unwin, Word of Mouth TV has three prizes to giveaway for our very al-fresco Italian Josephine Moon episode. The first prize is a bumper giveaway. It includes four of Josephine's novels: Three Gold Coins, The Tea Chest, The Chocolate Promise and The Beekeeper's Secret; and a beautiful hard-back edition of celebrity chef extraordinaire Matt Moran's Australian Food. This is a gorgeous giveaway with a very distinctive Australian flavour.