Sugar-Plums and Sherbet: The Prehistory of Sweets

The original hardback gained universal praise; ‘A fascinating account’ said the TLS; echoed by national and local press; ‘A fascinating book full of off-beat information’, wrote Derek Cooper. This book looks beyond the brilliant colours of the sweet-shop shelf and consider the ingenuity of sugar boiling and the manufacture of those intriguing avatars of childhood happiness: the humbug, the gobstopper, the peardrop and the stick of rock. As well as a history, it is also a recipe book, with tw…