The Last Banquet

'The Last Banquet is a tantalising tale, be prepared for some dark mystery and decadent recipes. A must for lovers of Patrick Suskind's Perfume and Andrew Millar's Pure…' Booksellers's Choice July 2013, The Bookseller

‘Wonderfully enjoyable. Grimwood captures the colour, the decadence and tawdry glamour of Versailles beautifully. I loved the complexity of the relationships, and its sensual quality reminded me at times of Angela Carter… Masterful.’ Carol Birch, author of Jamrach’s Menagerie

'The Last Banquet is a feast for the senses; dark, sensual and unexpected. I loved it...' Jojo Moyes, author of Me Before You

One man’s search for the perfect taste set between the death of the Sun King and the start of the French Revolution, against a backdrop of the rise of Enlightenment and the collapse of the ancien régime. It is a story of obsession, revolution and recipes.

Spanning eighteenth century France, The Last Banquet is the memoir of Jean-Marie d’Aumout, orphan, military cadet, aristocrat, gastronome and owner of the finest menagerie in France outside of Versailles. We follow his fortunes from beetle-eating poverty to the courtship of his best friend’s sister and his rise to fame. 

It deals with his friendship with American revolutionary Ben Franklin, his correspondence with Voltaire and de Sade, and his part in the fall of the republic of Corsica, where he goes in search of a feted but highly unusual cheese. As France begins to fall under the grip of revolution, Jean-Marie seeks refuge in undiscovered dishes and wayward recipes, half welcoming, half fearful of the coming destruction, and the rebirth for society that he hopes will lie beyond.