Nigella Lawson Books In Order

Publication Order of Cookbooks

Publication Order of Vintage Minis Books

Nigella Lawson is a popular English journalist that is best known for her exploits as a chef, food critic, and gourmet author.

+Biography
Nigella Lawson was born in 1960 in Wandsworth, London. Her father is Nigel Lawson, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer. Her mother is Vanessa Salmon, Nigel Lawson’s first wife.

Nigella’s parents, both of whom are Jewish, ended their marriage in 1980 just as the author reached her twenties. Nigella has been quite open about the struggles she encountered because of her father’s work, specifically all the scrutiny and judgment she faced for the choices she made in life.

The author’s educational journey includes stints at Godolphin and Latymer School and Lady Margaret Hall at Oxford University. Nigella has revealed on numerous occasions that her school years were among the hardest of her life.

By the time she was eighteen, the author had changed schools at impressive nine times, primarily because of how difficult, disruptive and rude she could be. She spent a few years working at department stores in London before she graduated from Oxford with a degree in medieval and Modern Languages, at which point her publishing career began to take off.

The author spent so many years carving out a reputation in the broadcasting and television arena that few people know of her roots in the field of journalism. Nigella Lawson was 23-years-old when she landed a position at ‘The Spectator’ at the invitation of a friend.

During those early years, Nigella primarily produced book reviews. She eventually became a restaurant critic, a development that paved the way for Nigella to join ‘The Sunday Times’ as deputy literary editor.

Nigella and her father rarely agreed politically. It came as quite a surprise when she admitted to voting for the Labor Party in 1989 as opposed to supporting her father’s conservative party.

The issue is unlikely to have added much strain to her relationship with Nigel Lawson. According to Nigella, the two of them never discuss politics. The subject rarely came up in her journalistic work, which changed when she left The Sunday Times to pursue a career as a freelancer.

Over the years, Nigella Lawson contributed columns and articles to The Daily Telegraph, The Observer, The Evening Standard and many more. And it was always for her cooking sensibilities that the author drew attention.
Nigella’s interest in food can be traced back to her mother who loved to cook. The author’s literary debut came in 1998 after she witnessed a disastrous dinner party and was then inspired to write ‘How to Eat’, an extensive collection of culinary tips designed to save time.

The book was a hit and it wasn’t that long after that Nigella followed it up with ‘How to be a Domestic Goddess’. Even with the feminist criticism it attracted, the volume’s instructions on baking not only won the author a British Author of the Year award but it also landed her a social affairs column with The Observer.

‘Nigella Bites’ eventually went on air, the author’s first cooking television show. Nigella Lawson’s on-air persona proved to be so charismatic that it earned her the praise of some of Television’s harshest critics, not to mention broadcasting awards and even a fanbase in the United States.

Some questions were raised about the author’s flirtatious demeanor but that only added fire to the furor of excitement that surrounded her figure in the United States. Nigella’s fortunes only continued to grow in the years that followed.

She wrote new cooking books, most of which were designed to ease the burden so many women felt whenever they entered the kitchen. She contributed articles to even larger publications even as new opportunities for television shows came her way.

She can boast about participating in the preparation of the lunch that George and Laura Bush where served when the presidential couple was hosted by Tony Blair in 2003. But for all the success that her culinary talents have earned her over the decades, Nigella Lawson is always quick to point out the fact that she is neither a trained chef nor does she want people to refer to her as a celebrity chef.

Nigella cooks more for pleasure than anything else. She writes content for her books that she would love to read and utilize practically as a cook and an eater. Her approach to the cooking arts is very casual and that might explain why her recipes are so simple and straightforward.

Nigella has fought back against claims that she is unnecessarily sexual in her presentations. She insists that she merely takes an intimate approach to food.

On the personal front, Nigella was married to John Diamond, a fellow journalist. They met in 1986 at The Sunday Times. They had a daughter and a son. Diamond eventually died of throat cancer in 1997.

Nigella married Charles Saatchi, an art collector in 2003. Their marriage was a troubled one, with Nigella accusing Saatchi of intimate terrorism. They divorced in 2013.

+How to Be a Domestic Goddess
This book from Nigella Lawson is a baking guide. However, more than merely teaching her readers how to make pastries, Lawson wants avid cooks to learn to enjoy their time in the kitchen.

In this book, she attempts to show them how they can go about enjoying the process of preparing a meal. Lawson makes the baking process simple and straightforward. She also tackles the anxieties she believes some cooks encounter and the best ways to achieve their food fantasies.

+Nigella Express
This book came out just as Nigella Lawson was launching a brand new show. The book was designed to capitalize on the success of the cooking show. The guide takes readers on a journey through some of Lawson’s favorite recipes.

Emphasis is placed on creativity and the production of a satisfying meal. But a key factor of the book’s message is speed. Nigella Lawson understands the fact that not everyone who steps into the kitchen has the patience to prepare a proper meal.

She understands that most people have such hectic schedules that they do not have the time to contend with drawn-out cooking sessions. So the celebrity chef shows them how they can go about producing great meals at a rapid pace.