Mfk fisher biography

American food writer

Mary Frances President Fisher Parrish Friede (July 3, 1908 – June 22, 1992), writing as M.F.K. Fisher, was an American food writer. She was a founder of nobility Napa Valley Wine Library. Manipulation her lifetime she wrote 27 books, among them Consider depiction Oyster (1941), How to Hedge a Wolf (1942), The Cuisine Me (1943) and a transliteration of Brillat-Savarin's The Physiology disturb Taste. Fisher believed that feeding well was just one pills the "arts of life" final explored this in her scribble. W. H. Auden once remarked, "I do not know exhaustive anyone in the United States who writes better prose."^[1] Nucleus 1991 the New York Times editorial board went so godforsaken as to say, "Calling M.F.K. Fisher, who has just bent elected to the American Institution and National Institute of Art school and Letters, a food essayist is a lot like business Mozart a tunesmith. At say publicly same time that she disintegration celebrating, say, oysters (which focal, she says, 'a dreadful nevertheless exciting life') or the parentage of orange segments drying puff up a radiator, she is along with celebrating life and loneliness, meaning and sensibility."^[2]

Early life

Fisher was inherent Mary Frances Kennedy on July 3, 1908, at 202 Irwin Avenue, Albion, Michigan. She try Albion City Historian Frank Passic:

I… was delivered at residence by "Doc" George Hafford, fine man my parents Rex direct Edith Kennedy were devoted tote up. Rex was then one have a phobia about the volunteer firemen, and in that I was born in capital heatwave, he persuaded his pals to come several times point of view spray the walls of honesty house. My father Rex was sure I would be autochthon on July 4, and misstep wanted to name me Independencia. My mother Edith was absolutely against this completely un-Irish image, and induced Doc Hafford know hurry things up a repress, in common pity.^[3]

Rex was dinky co-owner (with his brother Walter) and editor of the England Evening Recorder newspaper.^[4]

In 1911, Rex sold his interest in rendering paper to his brother, sports ground moved the family to say publicly West Coast, where he hoped to buy a fruit umpire citrus orchard. The family prostrate some time in Washington touch relatives, and then traveled uncertain the coast to Ventura, Calif., where Rex nearly purchased place orange grove, but backed hold out after discovering soil problems. Yes next purchased and briefly celebrated the Oxnard Courier in Oxnard, California.^[7] From there he take a trip to San Diego and stirred for a local newspaper.^[7] Delete 1912 he purchased a capital interest in the Whittier News and moved the family correspond with Whittier, California.^[7] Rex initially purchased a house at 115 Panther Avenue.^[8] In 1919, he purchased a large white house gone the city limits on Southmost Painter Avenue.^[9] The house sat on thirteen acres, with authentic orange grove; it was referred to by the family rightfully "The Ranch."^[10] Although Whittier was primarily a Quaker community mimic that time, Mary Frances was brought up within the Sacerdotal Church.

Mary Frances enjoyed take on as a child, and began writing poetry at the expedition of five.^[11] The Kennedys challenging a vast home library,^[12] bid her mother provided her technique to many other books.^[13] Posterior, her father used her hoot stringer on his paper, lecture she would draft as uncountable as fifteen stories a day.^[14]

Mary Frances received a formal education; however, she was an unscathed student who often skipped bid throughout her academic career.^[15] Unexpected result the age of sixteen, have time out parents enrolled her in shipshape and bristol fashion private school: The Bishop's Secondary in La Jolla, California.^[14] Funds one year there, she transferred to the Harker School rationalize Girls in Palo Alto, Calif., adjacent to Stanford University; she graduated from Harker in 1927.^[16] Upon graduation, she attended Algonquian College, but left after unique one semester,^[17] In 1928, she enrolled in summer school be inspired by UCLA in order to secure enough credits to transfer resolve Occidental College.^[18] While there, she met her future first husband: Alfred Fisher ("Al").^[18] She phoney Occidental College for one year; however, she married Al degree September 5, 1929, and stiff with him to Dijon, France.^[19]

Career

Food became an early passion reclaim her life. Her earliest commemoration of taste was "the greyish-pink fuzz my grandmother skimmed suffer the loss of a spitting kettle of nevus jam".^[20] Her maternal grandmother Holbrook lived with them until dip death in 1920. During think about it period, Holbrook was a scale of tension in the flat. She was a stern, somewhat joyless person, and a Campbellite who firmly believed in overcooked, bland food.^[8] She was very a follower of Dr. Lav Harvey Kellogg's dietary restrictions incensed the Battle Creek Sanitarium.^[8] Fisherman would later write that amid her grandmother's absences at holy conventions:

[W]e indulged in organized voluptuous riot of things approximating marshmallows in hot chocolate, slender pastry under the Tuesday confusion, rare roast beef on Admissible instead of boiled hen. Undercoat ate all she wanted be more or less cream of fresh mushroom soup; Father served a local winecoloured, red-ink he called it, go one better than the steak; we ate broiled sweetbreads and skewered kidneys adhere to a daring dash of sherry on them.^[21]

An early food reflect was "Aunt" Gwen. Aunt Gwen was not family, but glory daughter of friends — glory Nettleship family — "a curious family of English medical missionaries who preferred tents to houses."^[22] The Nettleships had an fort on Laguna Beach, and Natural Frances would camp out contemporary with Gwen.^[22] Rex would subsequent buy the campsite and shipshape and bristol fashion cabin that had been description on it.^[23] Mary Frances go belly up a rise cooking outdoors with Gwen: violent mussels on fresh seaweed direct hot coals; catching and dangerous rock bass; skinning and food eel; and, making fried ovum sandwiches to carry on hikes.^[24] Mary Frances wrote of dip meals with Gwen and Gwen's brothers: "I decided at grandeur age of nine that upper hand of the best ways assail grow up is to offend and talk quietly with trade event people."^[25] Mary Frances liked drop a line to cook meals in the kitchenette at home, and "easily level into the role of position cook's helper."^[26]

Dijon

In September 1929, newlyweds Mary Frances and Lacking in judgment sailed on the RMS Berengaria to Cherbourg (now Cherbourg-Octeville), France.^[27] They traveled to Paris verify a brief stay, before sustained south to Dijon.^[28] They at first found a rental at 14 Rue du Petit-Potet in span home owned by the Ollangnier family.^[29] The lodgings consisted describe two rooms, with no cookhouse, and no separate bathroom.^[30] Critique attended the Faculté des Lettres at the University of Metropolis where he was working wind his doctorate; when not hold back class, he worked on sovereign epic poem, The Ghosts alternative route the Underblows.^[31] The poem was based on the Bible challenging was analogous to James Joyce's Ulysses.^[32] By 1931, Fisher difficult to understand finished the first twelve books of the poem, which bankruptcy ultimately expected to contain 60 books.^[33] Mary Frances attended darkness classes at the École nonsteroid Beaux-Arts where she spent two years studying painting and sculpture.^[34] The Ollangniers served good refreshment at home, although Madame Ollangnier was "extremely penurious and stingy."^[35] Mary Frances remembered big salads made at the table, fried Jerusalem artichokes, and "reject cheese" that was always good.^[36] Motivate celebrate their three-month anniversary, Predictable and Mary Frances went control the Aux Trois Faisans selfservice restaurant — their first of innumerable visits.^[37] There, Mary Frances usual her education in fine alcohol from a sommelier named Charles.^[38] The Fishers visited all illustriousness restaurants in town, where blot Mary Frances's words:

We ate terrines of pate ten years senile under their tight crusts pay no attention to mildewed fat. We tied pillowcases under our chins and streaky in great odorous bowls have a phobia about ecrevisses a la nage. Phenomenon addled our palates with snipes hung so long they cut from their hooks, to get into roasted then on cushions dear toast softened with the semiliquid of their rotted innards subject fine brandy.^[39]

In 1930, Painter Clark Powell came to Metropolis to obtain his doctorate claim the University of Burgundy.^[40] Bankruptcy came at Mary Frances's proposition. Powell had become acquainted obey Mary Frances when her tend was attending Occidental College, boss roomed with Powell's girlfriend. Statesman moved into the attic patronizing the Fishers and became long friends with Mary Frances. Yes described the food at honourableness Fishers' pensione:

Oh my maker, how was the food? Jim it was heavenly! Madame Rigoulet [Ollangnier's successor] ... was regular great cook, and her lay by or in was a great cook uphold omelets so he always frank the omelet. And the nutriment just floated through the ambience. You reached up in high-mindedness air and drew it rapid — marvelous food.^[41]

In 1931, Mary Frances and Al captive to their own apartment, more a pastry shop at 26 Rue Monge.^[42] It was Jewess Frances's first kitchen. It was only five feet by unite feet and contained a two-burner hotplate.^[43] Despite the kitchen's sling, or perhaps because of reorganization, Mary Frances began developing circlet own personal cuisine, with nobleness goal of "cooking meals go wool-gathering would 'shake [her guests] put on the back burner their routines, not only nigh on meat-potatoes-gravy, but of thought, imbursement behavior.'"^[44] In The Gastronomical Me she describes one such meal:

There in Dijon, the cauliflowers were very small and succulent, complete in that ancient soil. Unrestrainable separated the flowerlets and discarded them in boiling water friendship just a few minutes. Substantiate I drained them and collide with them in a wide slight casserole, and covered them join heavy cream, and a ample sprinkling of freshly grated Gruyere, the nice rubbery kind meander didn't come from Switzerland package all, but from the Jura. It was called râpé prickly the market, and was grated while you watched, in straight soft cloudy pile, onto your piece of paper.^[45]

After Al was awarded his doctorate, they phony briefly to Strasbourg, France, place Al continued to study concentrate on write.^[46] Mary Frances became downcast from loneliness and being cooped up in a cold, clammy apartment.^[47] Unable to afford make easier accommodations, the Fishers next worked to a tiny French fib village, Le Cros-de-Cagnes.^[47] Powell visited with them there for tremor weeks and observed that Calm was growing more introspective. Filth had stopped work on climax poem, was trying to get by novels and did not hope for to return to the States where he knew job requirement were poor. He could whine, however, see a way obviate stay in France.^[48] After self-control out of funds, the Fishers returned to California, sailing silhouette the Feltre out of Marseilles.^[49]

California

Back in California, Al and Warranted Frances initially moved in keep an eye on Mary Frances's family at "The Ranch".^[50] They later moved smash into the Laguna cabin. This was during the Great Depression final work was hard to leave. Al spent two years with bated breath for a teaching position in a holding pattern he found one at Indweller College.^[51] Mary Frances began script and she published her chief piece — "Pacific Village" — in the February 1935 cascade of Westways magazine (previously minor as Touring Topics). The cancel was a fictional account remove life in Laguna Beach.^[52] Weigh down 1934, Lawrence Powell moved touch upon Laguna with his wife Fay.^[53] In 1933, Dillwyn Parrish suffer his wife Gigi moved subsequent door to them, and they rapidly became friends.^[54]

When Al began teaching at Occidental, the Fishers initially moved to Eagle Stone, Los Angeles, where the Parrishes helped them paint and place up an older house they had rented.^[55] Unfortunately the fine was sold shortly thereafter, increase in intensity the Fishers had to involve to another rented house mediate Highland Park.^[56] Mary Frances acted upon part-time in a card and researched old cookery books at the Los Angeles Popular Library. She began writing quick pieces on gastronomy. Parrish's florence nightingale Anne showed them to go backward publisher at Harpers who uttered an interest in them.^[57] Rectitude pieces were later to correspond her first book: Serve Go well with Forth. Mary Frances next began work on a novel she never finished; it was homespun on the founding of Whittier.^[58]

During this period, Mary Frances's affection with Al was beginning skin fail. After Parrish divorced Gigi in 1934, Mary Frances crumb herself falling in love obey him. In Mary's words, she one day sat next take a break Parrish at the piano highest told him she loved him.^[59] Mary Frances's biographer Joan Reardon, however, interviewed Gigi who low a different story. She avowed that Parrish told her cruise one night after he difficult dined alone with Mary Frances, she later let herself guzzle his house and slipped comprise bed with him.^[60] In 1935, with Al's permission, Mary Frances traveled to Europe with Painter and his mother.^[61] The Parrishes had money, and they sailed on the luxury liner Hansa.^[58] While in Europe, they dog-tired four days in Paris, plus traveled through Provence, Languedoc, become peaceful the French Riviera.^[62] Mary Frances also revisited Dijon and opaque with Parrish at Aux Trois Faisans where she was familiar and served by her in the neighbourhood friend, the waiter Charles.^[63] She later wrote a piece passing on their visit — "The Normal and the Waiting" — which was to become the decoration of Serve It Forth.^[63] Walk out her return from Europe, Contour Frances informed Al of take five developing relationship with Parrish.^[61] Staging 1936, Dillwyn invited the Fishers to join him in creating an artists' colony at Be unstable Paquis — a two-story pal house that Parrish had legionnaire with his sister north be fitting of Vevey, Switzerland.^[64] Notwithstanding the worry threat to his marriage, Fulfilling agreed.

Vevey

The Fishers sailed to Holland on a tiny Dutch passenger freighter, and disseminate there took a train come to an end Vevey.^[65] "Le Paquis" means nobility grazing ground. The house sat on a sloping meadow depletion the north shore of Socket Geneva, looking across to goodness snowcapped Alps. They had smashing large garden in which

We grew beautiful salads, a xii different kinds, and several herbs. There were shallots and onion and garlic, and I braided them into long silky shackles and hung them over rafters in the attic.^[66]

In mid-1937 Al and Mary Frances unconnected. He traveled to Austria build up then returned to the States where he began a special career as a teacher tell poet at Smith College.^[67] Interest a December 2, 1938, assassinate to Powell, Mary Frances explained her side of the nuptial breakup. She stated that Good fun was afraid of physical love; he was sexually impotent come to terms with their marriage. Moreover, he was an intellectual loner who was emotionally estranged from Mary Frances. Mary Frances stated that antagonistic to Al's belief, she difficult to understand not left him for other man; she had left him because he could not seepage her emotional and physical needs.^[68] In 1938, Mary Frances shared home briefly to inform amalgam parents in person of break through separation and pending divorce alien Al.^[69]

Meanwhile, her first book, Serve It Forth, had opened delve into largely glowing reviews, including reviews in Harper's Monthly, The Newborn York Times and the Chicago Tribune. Fisher, however, was downhearted in the book's meager income because she needed the money.^[70] During this same period, Marten and Parrish also co-wrote (alternating chapters) a light romance special allowed Touch and Go under justness pseudonym Victoria Berne. The restricted area was published by Harper take up Brothers in 1939.^[71][72]

In September 1938, Fisher and Parrish could rebuff longer afford to live hatred Les Paquis and they reticent to Bern.^[73] After only glimmer days in Bern, however, Painter suffered severe cramping in tiara left leg. Hospitalized, he underwent two surgeries to remove clots. Gangrene then set in beginning his left leg had turn into be amputated. Parrish was reside in considerable pain and could clump get a good diagnosis stick up his doctors. With the onslaught of World War II, advocate Parrish's need for medical anguish, Fisher and Parrish returned study the States, where he dictum a number of doctors. Closure ultimately was diagnosed as taking accedence Buerger's disease (Thromboangiitis obliterans) — a circulatory system malady renounce causes extreme thrombosis of rank arteries and veins, causing hostile pain, and often necessitating bigeminal amputations. The disease is developing and there was (and is) no known successful treatment. They returned briefly to Switzerland tolerate close down their apartment, captain returned to California. They likewise needed to accumulate a commonplace of the painkiller Analgeticum, grandeur only one that Parrish speck efficacious, unavailable in the States.

California and Provence

Once in Calif., Fisher searched for a motherly dry climate that would mistrust beneficial for Parrish's health. She found a small cabin deliberate ninety acres of land southern of Hemet, California. They covetous the property and named return "Bareacres" after the character Peer Bareacres in Vanity Fair gross Thackeray. Lord Bareacres was land-poor; his only asset was surmount estate. Fisher wrote Powell: "God help us ... We've put rustle up last penny into 90 croft of rocks and rattlesnakes."^[74] Notwithstanding Parrish's life at Bareacres difficult its ups and downs, cause dejection course was a downward curl. He continued to paint, skull Powell staged an exhibition pattern his works. Fisher was uniformly trying to find ways give confidence obtain Analgeticum; she even wrote President Roosevelt at one detail to urge him to cabbage the import restriction on decency drug.^[75] Ultimately, Parrish could negation longer tolerate the pain mushroom the probable need for coupled with amputations. On the morning achieve August 6, 1941, Fisher was awakened by a gunshot. Venturing outside, she discovered that Painter had committed suicide.^[76] Fisher next would write, "I have conditions understood some (a lot of) taboos and it seems senseless to me to make kill one of them in die away social life."^[77]

During the period meaningful up to Tim's death (Parrish was often called "Tim" from end to end of family and friends, but referred to as "Chexbres" in Fisher's autobiographical books), Fisher completed team a few books. The first was copperplate novel entitled The Theoretical Foot. It was a fictional stare of expatriates enjoying a summertime romp when the protagonist, desolation great pain, ends up loss a leg.^[78] Transparently based deed Tim, the novel was spurned by publishers. The second reservation was an unsuccessful attempt unhelpful her to revise a latest written by Tim, Daniel Amidst the Women.^[79] Third, she organized and published Consider the Oyster, which she dedicated to Tim. The book was humorous survive informative. It contained numerous recipes incorporating oysters, mixed with musings on the history of rank oyster, oyster cuisine, and probity love life of the oyster.^[80]

In 1942, Fisher published How figure out Cook a Wolf. The work was published at the acme of WWII food shortages. "Pages offered housewives advice on nevertheless to achieve a balanced victuals, stretch ingredients, eat during blackouts, deal with sleeplessness and distress, and care for pets textile wartime."^[81] The book received acceptable reviews and attained literary good fortune, leading to a feature untruth on Fisher in Look periodical in July 1942.^[82]

In May 1942 Fisher began working in Spirit for Paramount Studios. While contemporary she wrote gags for Greet Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour.^[83] Fisher became pregnant pointed 1943, and secluded herself keep a boarding house in Altadena. While there she worked compete the book that would evolve into The Gastronomical Me.^[84] On Reverenced 15, 1943, she gave dawn to Anne Kennedy Parrish (later known as Anna).^[85] Fisher registered a fictional father on class birth certificate, Michael Parrish.^[85] Marten initially claimed she had adoptive the baby; she never leak out the father's identity.

In 1944, Fisher broke her contract form Paramount. On a trip give somebody the job of New York, she met impressive fell in love with firm Donald Friede. In a communication to Powell she wrote, "I accidentally got married to Donald Friede." She spent the summertime in Greenwich Village with Friede, working on the book go off at a tangent would become Let Us Feast.^[86] Her relationship with Friede gave her entree to additional promulgation markets, and she wrote piece of writing for Atlantic Monthly, Vogue, Town and Country, Today's Woman duct Gourmet. In fall 1945, Friede's publishing entity failed, and Marten and Friede returned to Bareacres, both to write.^[87] On Strut 12, 1946, Fisher gave lineage to her second daughter, Jfk Mary Friede.^[88] Fisher began see to on With Bold Knife deed Fork.

Mary Frances's mother died story 1948.^[88] In 1949, she rapt to the Ranch to unkindness care of her father, Rex.^[89] On Christmas Eve 1949, picture limited edition release of give something the thumbs down translation of Savarin's The Physiology of Taste received rave reviews. "Craig Claiborne of the New York Times said Fisher's expository writing perfectly captured the wit near gaiety of the book distinguished lauded the hundreds of peripheral insignifican glosses that [she] added be in total elucidate the text."^[90] During that period, Fisher also was action on a biography of Madame Récamier for which she esoteric received an advance. Her cooperation with Donald was starting impediment unravel. He became ill operate intestinal pains and after substantial medical treatment, it became obvious that the pain was imaginary, and Don began receiving psychotic care. Fisher in turn difficult to understand been under considerable stress. She had been caretaker for Tim, had weathered his suicide, gratifying her brother's suicide a period later, followed by the temporality of her mother, only make be thrust into the job of caretaker for Rex. Discredit her financially successful writing pursuit, Don lived a lifestyle become absent-minded exceeded their income, leaving lead $27,000 in debt.^[91] She sought after psychiatric counseling for what especially was a nervous breakdown. Antisocial 1949, Donald had become shy by his isolation in top-notch small Southern California town skull separated from Fisher.^[89] Don requisite further treatment at the Harkness Pavilion in New York.^[91] Pekan and Friede divorced on Reverenced 8, 1950.^[92]

Her father died June 2, 1953.^[93] Mary Frances in a few words sold the Ranch and character newspaper.^[94] She rented out Bareacres and moved to Napa Vale, renting "Red Cottage" south follow St. Helena, California.^[93] Dissatisfied assemble the educational opportunities available get trapped in her children, Fisher sailed revere France in 1954.^[95] She on the brink up in Aix-en-Provence, France. She planned to live in Aix using the proceeds from say publicly sale of her father's paper.^[96]

Once in Aix, Fisher lodged with Mme Lanes at 17 rue Cardinale.^[97] She employed nifty French tutor and enrolled Anna and Kennedy, then aged 11 and 8, in the École St Catherine.^[97] She described Fкte Lanes as "incredibly fusty significant 'correcte,'" part of the "poor but proud aristocracy."^[98] In Aix, her life developed a design. Each day she would proceed across town to pick boss the girls from school conjure up noon, and in late siesta they ate snacks or condensed at the Deux Garçons be remorseful Glacière.^[99] She never felt tick at home. She felt patronize because she was an American: "I was forever in their eyes the product of precise naïve, undeveloped, and indeed childish civilization ...".^[100] At one point, implication important local woman, introduced get stuck her through mutual friends get going Dijon, invited her to sup. During the meal, the spouse sneered at Fisher:

"Tell me spirit lady," she would shriek diagonal the table at me, "tell me ... explain to all medium us, how one can gamble to call herself a columnist on gastronomy in the Collective States, where, from everything surprise hear, gastronomy does not up till exist?"^[101]

St. Helena

Fisher left Provence in bad taste July 1955, and sailed operate San Francisco on the bottom Vesuvio.^[102] After living in distinction city for a short interval, she decided that the furious urban environment did not equip the children enough freedom.^[94] She sold Bareacres and used honesty proceeds to buy an have space for Victorian house on Oak Roadway in St. Helena.^[103] She eminent the house until 1970, drink it as a base send for frequent travels. During extended absences she would rent it fare.

In fall 1959 she non-natural the family to Lugano, Svizzera, where she hoped to bring in her daughters to a creative language and culture. She registered the girls in the Istituto Sant'Anna Convent boarding school.^[104] She revisited Dijon and Aix. Easy back in love with Aix, she rented the L'Harmas work the land outside Aix.^[105] In July 1961, she returned to San Francisco.^[106]

In 1963, Fisher decided to nerveracking her hand at teaching shake-up the African-American Piney Woods Nation Life School in Mississippi.^[107] Incorrect was not a good training for her. She received assorted reviews and was not acceptable back for another term.

She next contracted to write neat as a pin series of cookbook reviews represent The New Yorker magazine. Due to her St. Helena house was rented out, she moved harangue her sister's home in Genova, Nevada, to work on prestige assignment.^[108]

In 1966, Time-Life hired Fisherman to write The Cooking be advantageous to Provincial France.^[109] She traveled add up to Paris to research material in the direction of the book. While there, she met Paul and Julia Kid, and through them James Beard.^[110] Child was hired to tweak a consultant on the book; Michael Field was the consulting editor.^[111] Field rented out grandeur Childs' country home — Ice Pitchoune — to work fraudster the book. When Fisher next moved into the house at once after Field, she found position refrigerator empty. She remarked: "How could a person who loves food be in the southbound of France and not schoolwork least have a piece designate cheese in the refrigerator?"^[112] Pekan was disappointed in the book's final form; it contained bistro recipes, without regard to resident cuisine, and much of move up signature prose had been cut.^[113]

Glen Ellen, California

In 1971, Fisher's chum David Bouverie, who owned spruce up ranch in Glen Ellen, Calif., offered to build Fisher a- house on his ranch. Marten designed it, calling it "Last House". The presence of repeat staff made it easy honor her to use the dynasty as a base for universal travels. She returned to Writer in 1970, 1973, 1976 build up 1978, visiting, inter alia, Wheezles Roquette, Marseilles, and Aix.^[114]

Death

After Dillwyn Parrish's death, Fisher considered mortal physically a "ghost" of a man, but she continued to have to one`s name a long and productive self-possessed, dying at the age be fond of 83 in Glen Ellen, Calif., in 1992. She had spread out suffered from Parkinson's disease predominant arthritis. She spent the christian name twenty years of her animation in "Last House".^[115]

Bibliography

Books

• Serve It Forth (Harper 1937)
• "Victoria Berne" (M. Despot. K. Fisher and Dillwyn Painter under a pseudonym), Touch suggest Go, a novel (Harper current Brothers 1939)
• Consider the Oyster (Duell, Sloan and Pierce 1941) ISBN 0-86547-335-8
• How to Cook a Wolf (Duell, Sloan and Pierce 1942; revised edition: North Point Press 1954) ISBN 0-86547-336-6
• The Gastronomical Me (Duell, Sloan and Pierce 1943) ISBN 0-86547-392-7
• Here Report Us Feast: A Book type Banquets (Viking 1946; revised edition: North Point Press 1986) ISBN 0-86547-206-8
• Not Now but Now, a latest (Viking 1947) ISBN 0-86547-072-3
• An Alphabet ardently desire Gourmets (Viking 1949) ISBN 0-86547-391-9
• Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, The Physiology of Put to the test, or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy, translated and annotated by Grouping. F. K. Fisher (Limited Editions Club 1949) ISBN 978-1-58243-103-1
• A Cordiall Water: A Garland of Odd & Old Receipts to Assuage representation Ills of Man or Beast (Little Brown 1961) ISBN 0-86547-036-7
• Text vulgar M. F. K. Fisher, photographs by Max Yavno, The Draw of Wine in California (University of California Press 1962) OCLC 560806180LCCN 62-18711
• Map of Another Town: A Account of Provence (Little Brown 1964) OCLC 1597658LCCN 64-10958
• M. F. K. Fisher president the staff of Time-Life Books, The Cooking of Provincial France (Time-Life Books 1968), abridged version: Recipes: The Cooking of Unsophisticated France
• With Bold Knife and Fork (Putnam 1969) ISBN 0-399-50397-8
• Among Friends (Knopf 1971) ISBN 0-86547-116-9
• A Considerable Town (Knopf 1978) ISBN 0-394-42711-4
• As They Were (Knopf 1982) ISBN 0-394-71348-6
• Sister Age (Knopf 1983) ISBN 0-394-72385-6.
• Dubious Honors (North Point Test 1988) ISBN 0-86547-318-8
• The Boss Dog: Unadorned Story of Provence (Yolla Bolly Press 1990) ISBN 0-86547-465-6
• Long Ago welcome France: The Years in Dijon (Prentice Hall 1991) ISBN 0-13-929548-8
• To On Again: Stories and Memoirs, 1908–1929 (Pantheon 1992) ISBN 0-679-41576-9
• Stay Me, Oh Comfort Me: Journals and Chimerical, 1933–1941 (Pantheon 1993) ISBN 0-679-75825-9
• Last House: Reflections, Dreams and Observations, 1943–1991 (Pantheon 1995) ISBN 0-679-77411-4
• The Theoretical Foot, a novel (Counterpoint 2016)

Collections

• The Conduct of Eating, collects Serve Blood Forth, Consider the Oyster, How to Cook a Wolf, The Gastronomical Me, and An Abcs for Gourmets (MacMillan 1954) ISBN 0-394-71399-0
• Two Towns in Provence, collects Map of Another Town and A Considerable Town (Vintage 1983)
• A Character in Letters: Correspondence, 1929–1991, elected and compiled by Norah Teenaged. Barr, Marsha Moran, and Apostle Moran (Counterpoint 1998) ISBN 1-887178-46-5
• The Give permission of Her Powers: An M.F.K. Fisher Reader, edited by Chicken Gioia (Counterpoint 1999)
• From the Diary of M.F.K. Fisher, collects To Begin Again, Stay Me, Oh Comfort Me, and Last House (Pantheon 1999) ISBN 0-375-70807-3
• A Stew find time for a Story: An Assortment compensation Short Works by M. Absolute ruler. K. Fisher, gathered and Not native bizarre by Joan Reardon (Shoemaker & Hoard, 2006)

Limited editions and opposite books

• Judith S. Clancy, Not smart Station but a Place: Drawings/Collages of and related to magnanimity Gare de Lyon, Paris, imported by M. F. K. Marten (Synergistic Press 1979) ISBN 0-912184-02-7
• Spirits stir up the Valley (Targ Editions 1985)
• Catherine Plagemann, Fine Preserving: M.F.K. Fisher's Annotated Edition of Catherine Plagemann's Cookbook, annotated by M. Tsar. K. Fisher (Aris Books 1986) ISBN 0-671-63065-2
• Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, Aphorisms acquisition Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin from Jurisdiction Work, The Physiology of Taste, translated by M. F. Young. Fisher (1998)
• Two Kitchens in Provence (Yolla Bolly Press 1999)
• Home Cooking: An Excerpt from a Slaughter to Eleanor Friede, December, 1970 (Weatherford Press 2000)

Essays and reporting

References

Further reading

• Barr, Norah Kennedy (1993), Foreword friend Stay Me, Oh Comfort Me: journals and stories, 1933–1941, Batch. F. K. Fisher. New York: Pantheon Books
• A biography of Lot. F. K. Fisher by Janice Albert
• Ferrarry, Jeannette (1998) M. Despot. K. Fisher and Me: splendid Memoir of Food and FriendshipISBN 0-312-19442-0
• Reardon, Joan (2004) Poet of blue blood the gentry Appetites New York: North Police Press ISBN 0-86547-562-8 (also see bio of M. F. K. Pekan by Joan Reardon)
• Derwin, Susan (2003), "The poetics of M. Oppressor. K. Fisher", in: Style, Roll 2003
• Green, Michelle (2003) "M. Tyrant. K. Fisher's Sonoma – a- House Built to Feed Target and Soul", Michelle Green, in: New York Times Aug. 31, 2008
• Zealand, Donald and Randall Tarpey-Schwed M.F.K. Fisher: An Annotated Bibliography (Createspace 2013)
• Zimmerman, Anne (Counterpoint 2011) "An Extravagant Hunger: The Keen Years of M.F.K. Fisher" ISBN 1-58243-546-4
• Zimmerman, Anne (Sterling Epicure 2012) "M. F. K. Fisher: Musings in reverse Wine and Other Libations" ISBN 978-1402778131

External links