Lady Glenconner's Picnic Papers

by Anne Glenconner

'Full of delightful stories...a wonderful insight into the British obsession with al fresco eating' - Travel Gourmet

From the peaks of the Himalayas to the historic grounds of Hampton Court, there's always a perfect spot for a picnic!

Anne Glenconner invites both old friends and new acquaintances to join her in The Picnic Papers. Featuring contributions from Bryan Adams, Graham Norton, Lorraine, Rupert Everett, Tina Brown, Freya Stark and many more, they explore the curious British obsession with dining alfresco, despite our famously unpredictable weather.

Picnics, it turns out, spark strong opinions. HRH Princess Margaret insisted on having hers at a proper table, while the indefatigable John Julius Norwich enjoyed 147 picnics over seven weeks in the Sahara. In stark contrast, writer James Lees-Milne simply loathed them.

Brimming with extraordinary tales and a few nostalgic recipes (though this is not a recipe book!) Lady Glenconner's The Picnic Papers is an invitation to a delightful feast of memories and culinary delights.

296 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 7, 2024

About the author

Anne Veronica (Coke) Tennant, LVO, Baroness Glenconner is a daughter of Thomas W.E. Coke, MVO, GOC, 5th Earl of Leicester and Elizabeth Mary (Yorke) Tennant, Countess of Leicester.

Lady Glenconner served as a maid of honour at the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953. She was Extra Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Elizabeth II's sister, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon from 1971 until the Princess died in 2002.

In 2019, Lady Glenconner’s memoir was published by Hodder & Stoughton. Speaking on her reason for publishing the book, she said: "I was so fed up with people writing such horrible things about Princess Margaret."

Reviews

[Lyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

in places i found this book boring.

[Denise Hale · Rating 3 out of 5]

My personal experience of picnics is mixed: I don't recall any childhood ones but I know if we went ont for the day my mother would put together some food for us all. I do remember putting together a picnic, which included homemade minestrone soup, to have with my boyfriend sitting in the car on a beach for my birthday in October. Years later, when I was taking my children out for the day we would drop into M&S and pick up 'meal deals' and some extra nibbles. One time in the park I recall my two-year-old son sitting down with another family and enjoying their sandwiches we didn't even know them. Like some of the contributors to this book the idea of out-of-doors eating isn't often matched by the reality, and when it is someone else has done all the work.

Most of these picnics took place in the last century and maybe it was okay to light a fire in a bluebell wood (you probably owned) then, nowadays it's just not, few people know how to light a fire out-of-doors then tidy up so no trace of it remains, and there is the possible damage to the bluebells, which should not even be picked!
The other remark that worried me was the reference to eating blackbird's eggs, it has been illegal to remove eggs from birds' nests since the 1950s!

I gave 3 stars because of the nostalgia element but it is an uneven read.

[Suzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting way to find out about a lot of people you didn't realise you wanted to know about. Heavy on the Princess Margaret but she was her very good friend so that's why. Nice revised edition with plenty of people more relevant to this time period I read it in. Most chapters/reminiscences contain a recipe or two at the end which actually give a bit more insight to what was popular to eat and how people may have behaved while picnicking in the times each particular picnic was set in.

[Sarah Burton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointingly dull and felt outdated.

[Saturday's Child · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another entertaining read from Lady Glenconner. It has made me want to plan to have a picnic as soon as possible.