In the course of her lifetime Elizabeth David transformed the way we eat. When "A Book of Mediterranean Food" appeared in 1950 it inspired a cookery revolution, bringing entirely new flavours and ingredients to the drab, post-war British diet. Yet her classic cookery books show little of the colourful personality behind the public persona. Here, with extensive access to Elizabeth David's private letters and papers, Artemis Cooper reveals an adventurous, rebellious and uncompromising personality - a woman with a passion for food, life and men. This is the whole story: of her strong friendships, her failed marriage, tempestuous affairs and the greatest love of her life. It is a story that even some of the closest friends never knew.