Six decades of correspondence sketch the story of a young adult who shouldered enormous domestic responsibilities as daughter, mother, and wife - a sensuous woman who managed to find success as a writer despite a paucity of money, time, and occasionally, spirit. These letters give voice to the self-doubt that lingered behind her strong public persona and tell of her long struggle to find a place in the world - not only as a writer but as a person.

Fisher identifies a variety of human cravings and the means to find nourishment in what is the most intimate of the five volumes in North Point's jacketed paperback series, now complete.

In An Extravagant Hunger, time slows and is relished, and the turning points and casual strolls of M.F.K. Fisher's life are unwrapped and savored. From the Berengaria that washed her across the sea to France in 1929, to Le Paquis, the Swiss estate that later provided a backdrop for some of the most idyllic and fleeting moments of her life, the stories of Fisher's love for food and her love for family and men are meticulously researched and exquisitely captured in this book. Exploring Fisher's lonely and formative time in Europe with her first husband; her subsequent divorce and re–marriage to her creative sparkplug, Dillwyn Parrish, and his tragic suicide; and the child she carried from an unnamed father, the story of M.F.K. Fisher's life becomes as vibrant and passionate as her prolific words on wine and cuisine. Letters and journal entries piece together a dramatic life, but An Extravagant Hunger steps further, bridging the gaps between personal notes and her public persona, filling in the silences by offering an engaging and unprecedented depth of intuitive commentary. With a passion of her own, Anne Zimmerman is the careful witness, lingering beside M.F.K. Fisher through her most dramatic and productive years.

Christened by John Updike as the "poet of the appetites," M.F.K. Fisher changed the way Americans understood the art of living. But she was also a master mythologizer. This multifaceted portrayal is no less memorable than the personae Fisher crafted for herself.

First published in 1942 when wartime shortages were at their worst, the ever-popular How to Cook a Wolf, continues to surmount the unavoidable problem of cooking within a budget. Here is a wealth of practical and delicious ways to keep the wolf from the door.

This anthology draws together the renowned food writer’s reflections, insights, and personal journeys through the world of wine and spirits. For MFK Fisher, one of Americas most-read and best-loved food writers, wine was a passion nurtured during her time in France and, later, California. This anthology, edited by acclaimed biographer Anne Zimmerman (An Extravagant Hunger: The Passionate Years of M.F.K. Fisher), is the first ever to gather Fishers finest writings on wine. In sparkling prose, Fisher reminisces about marvelous meals enjoyed and drinks savored; describes the many memorable restaurants that welcomed and even educated her; discuses rosés, sherry, chilled whites, and cocktails; and escorts readers from Dijon to Sonoma. Open a bottle, open the book, and linger over some of the best wine writing ever done.