Full of original research, Annie Gray's first book considers Britain's most iconic monarch from a new perspective, telling the history of British dining culture along the way.

Had me at the first sentence -- Nigel Slater Zingy, fresh, and unexpected: Annie Gray, the queen of food historians, finds her perfect subject. A book to devour -- Lucy Worsley Annie Gray is a brilliant writer and scholar who brings a glorious combination of enthusiasm and greed to every subject she tackles. In the field of food history she leads the pack. -- Jay Rayner 'The best - and most popular - rooms in any National Trust property are always the kitchens. It is there, rather than the grand staterooms, that we are able to visualise what life was really like in the past. In The Greedy Queen Annie Gray replicates those kitchens in book form, conjuring up for her readers both the elaborate banquets and the quiet family dinners of Queen Victoria and her household. Never has history seemed quite as delicious as in these pages.' -- Judith Flanders I'm avid to tuck in. -- Rachel Cooke Guardian 2017 non-fiction picks

Annie Gray is an historian, cook, broadcaster and writer specialising in the history of food and dining in Britain from around 1600 to the present day, conducting her research both in libraries and in kitchens. She has worked at Audley End amongst other historical kitchens, and gives lectures all over the country. She presents history documentaries including Victorian Bakers, and appears on BBC Radio 4's The Kitchen Cabinet. She lives in East Anglia.