What she ate: six remarkable women and the food that tells their stories

Dorothy Wordsworth believed that feeding her poet brother, William, gooseberry tarts was her part to play in a literary movement.

Cockney chef Rosa Lewis became a favourite of King Edward VII, who loved her signature dish of whole truffles boiled in Champagne.

Eleanor Roosevelt dished up Eggs Mexican - a concoction of rice, fried eggs, and bananas - in the White House.

Eva Braun treated herself to Champagne and cake in the bunker before killing herself, alongside Adolf Hitler.

Barbara Pym's novels overflow with enjoyment of everyday meals - of frozen fish fingers and Chablis - in midcentury England.

Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown's idea of 'having it all' meant having almost nothing on the plate except a supersized portion of diet gelatin.

In 'What She Ate,' Laura Shapiro examines the plates and recipe books of these six extraordinary women, casting a new light on each of their lives.