This weekend reader Steve P cracked the Professor Roney book mystery with this Larousse Encyclopedia of Prehistoric and Ancient Art.
It made me think of another Larousse in the movies.
In Red Dragon, part of the Silence of the Lambs franchise, Ed Norton is mooching round Hannibal Lecter's study when he spots a large cook book.
Thumbing through it he finds an asterisked entry for Ris de Veau and discovers Lecter's writing above it, a single but very telling word, Sweetbreads.
Norton's fate is sealed as he realises too late the true identity of his fell advisor, Hannibal Lector.
Lecter's cook book is an early French edition of Larousse Gastronomique.
In a strange twist of Lecter serendipity I ended up with a copy of this book myself when my Nephew was having a clear out!
Out of morbid curiosity I looked up Ris de Veau! I needn't have worried, my English edition published by those wizards at Paul Hamlyn in 1961 doesn't include Ris de Veau, just an entry for Sweetbreads and the word Ris after it, together with the recipe.
I think I would have feinted if someone had handwritten sweetbreads above it!
Were Larousse books the go-to tomes for movie makers or what?
Any more books in movies readers?
Right, time for a nice Chianti and some fava beans.
No comments:
Post a Comment