Bon Appétit

Maze, Lady & Bowden, Mrs V G. Bon Appétit: secrets from Shanghai Kitchens. (2nd Imp) [The Authors]: Shanghai, 1940. 8vo (190x130mm) red cloth bds [8],235,[5]pp. bds worn, edges frayed; eps offset toned; ffep lightly fished; owner name in ink

MAZE, Lady [Laura Gwendoline (1888-1972) ] and BOWEN, Mrs V G [Dorothy] compiled.

Bon Appetit: secrets from Shanghai Kitchens.

Shanghai: [The Authors], [1940-1941]. Second Impression

Octavo (190x130mm) original publisher's full red cloth, black lettered, boards, x,235,[7]pp.  Boards lightly soiled, front joint soft at tail, spine head gently frayed, some edgewear; endpapers offset toned, front free end paper lightly fished to one corner, owner name in ink;

An unusual and uncommon fundraising cookbook  collated and published by two socialites in the Shanghai International Settlement, after the commencement of the War in Europe and just prior to the War in the Pacific.

In 1940, the Shanghai International Settlement, was a diplomatic 'exception'.  Japan was at war with China but not yet the UK, Europe or the USA.  British Army garrisons that had been stationed to support the settlement had already been withdrawn to Hong Kong and Singapore.  Notwithstanding this, the Settlement, whilst surrounded by the Japanese Army, was an enclave of international business and still the centre of European privilege, decadence and glamour in the Far East.  Due to its unique legal status it was also a haven for Jewish refugees and a centre of commerce in the Far East even during the Japanese Occupation.

Lady Maze (born in Queensland)  was the wife of Sir Frederick Maze, a British civil servant and Chinese customs commissioner, serving as Inspector-General of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service from 1929 to 1943.   Mrs Bowden was the wife of Victor Gordon Bowden, an Australian public servant and diplomat who was the Australian Trade Commissioner to China in Shanghai from 1937 - September 1941.  In 1940 the authors compiled  published and printed Bon Appétit: recipes from Shanghai kitchens to raise funds for the British war effort.  Contributions were made by many in the Settlement (diplomatic and business) ('Shanghailanders')  including Rear Admiral Glassford (US) who oversaw the gunboat defence of interests in China and Sir Andrew Noble, from the British consulate and each included cocktails from respectively the Royal & United States Navies. The recipes are all attributed.

In early 1941, Lady Maze sent the then recently completed second impression to Australia on behalf of the Women of Shanghai, to benefit the Australian Red Cross.  A limited number of the books went on sale in Brisbane and Sydney in May 1941 through the Red Cross Offices and through the Air Force Club.  A third impression/edition illustrated by G R G Worcester and with a further 70+ recipes was also subsequently issued in Shanghai before the War in the Pacific.

Despite being subtitled "recipes from Shanghai kitchens", and Lady Maze's husband being a renowned Sinophile, the recipes are, with the exception of an unusual chapter on sukiyaki, and helpful instructions on cooking rice, international and lacking any significant mention of Chinese ingredients or influences.  Illustrative of the content, and perhaps reflecting the unusual society in the Settlement, is the introduction to the chapter on Hors d'oeuvre:  "Zakouska [Russian hors d'oeuvre] should be of a size small enough to be a mouthful only; those which require more than one bite are often refused at cocktail parties, however enticing they may look; for the job of coping with cocktail glass, hand-bag, and gloves is as much as any woman can manage."

In 1941, V G Bowden was transferred to Singapore whilst his wife returned to Australia.  In 1942, captured by the Japanese, he was shot - the only Australian diplomat executed in the line of duty.  Lord and Lady Maze stayed on in Shanghai and were interred after being accused of spying before being repatriated with other diplomatic staff by the Japanese to Portuguese East Africa in 1942.

Scarce.  A fascinating glimpse of the privileged life in the Shanghai International Settlement before it was dissolved.

§ OCLC only records 11 holdings all editions, mostly of the third impression.