Tastes of Honey

Makes an unassailable case for [Delaney’s] importance in British theatre history while showing how her posthumous reputation has been subtly slighted… splendid and illuminating – Kate Kellaway * Observer *
Selina Todd’s biography of Shelagh Delaney, Tastes of Honey, is great – Tracey Thorn * New Statesman *
In this subtle, thoughtful book, Selina Todd sets out to do more than simply retell Delaney’s rags-to-riches story… Instead Todd argues that Delaney offers a route to rethinking the ways in which women’s lives in the mid-20th century are routinely written up, especially by feminists – Kathryn Hughes * Guardian *
Shelagh Delaney keeps her mystery even from beyond the grave, but anyone who values what is best in British theatre and film will want to join Selina Todd as she digs deep into the brilliance of Delaney’s work – and her character. It’s a riveting book – David Hare
This is a sympathetic and perceptive account of a fine writer at a critical moment in our cultural life. Selina Todd’s enthusiasm for her subject is infectious and she captures precisely the spirit of the times. A lovely and enjoyable book – Ken Loach
Tastes of Honey illuminates the life of a woman of blazing talent – Celia Brayfield * The Times *
[A] vivid portrayal… As a social historian, Todd demonstrates the many factors, other than sheer talent and determination, that went into the “making” of Shelagh Delaney…she was part of the new wave of working-class talent that during the Fifties and Sixties transformed every area of creative life, from theatre and literature to art, music and fashion – Michael Todd * Daily Telegraph *
A clever, hopeful and cheering book…shocking and sobering on how working people have forcibly become divorced from the arts – Megan Nolan * New Statesman *
Selina Todd’s portrait of the artist against the backdrop of her changing times pays a warmly illuminating tribute to Delaney’s unique voice… Todd shows in jaw-dropping detail the depth of the hostility to Delaney and her unapologetic work – Boyd Tonkin * The Arts Desk *
Delaney was a trailblazer… Tastes of Honey is a biography of a writer whose output has – at times – been overshadowed by distorted versions of her story. By carefully emphasizing the radical qualities of Delaney’s oeuvre, and challenging many of the clichés that make up the mythology, Selina Todd offers a more nuanced view – Anna Coatman * Times Literary Supplement *

Selina Todd is Professor of Modern History at Oxford University. She grew up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and was educated at Heaton Manor Comprehensive School and the Universities of Warwick and Sussex. She writes about class, inequality, working-class history, feminism and women’s lives in modern Britain. Her book The People- The Rise and Fall of the Working Class 1910-2010 was a Sunday Times bestseller and was described by the Observer as ‘A book we badly need’. Based on the voices of working-class people themselves, it charted the history of ordinary workers, housewives, children and pensioners over the turbulent twentieth century.

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