--- title: Books by Crystal King description: Crystal King is the author of historical fiction books, FEAST OF SORROW and THE CHEF'S SECRET. King writes about the men behind the cookbooks that inspired the rich culinary tradition in Italy. --- [![Crystal King.png](https://www.crystalking.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Crystal%20King.png?width=140&name=Crystal%20King.png "Crystal King.png")](https://www.crystalking.com?hsLang=en-us) [![Crystal King](https://www.crystalking.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Crystal%20King.png?width=100&name=Crystal%20King.png "Crystal King")](https://www.crystalking.com?hsLang=en-us) [**](https://www.crystalking.com/oldbookspage#) ![all books cover](https://www.crystalking.com/hs-fs/hubfs/all%20books%20cover.jpg?width=1200&name=all%20books%20cover.jpg "all books cover") # BOOKS BY CRYSTAL KING THE LIVES OF ITALY'S CULINARY GREATS ![dot](https://www.crystalking.com/hs-fs/hubfs/dot.png?width=20&name=dot.png "dot") ![Chef's Secret FINAL Cover](https://www.crystalking.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Books/Chef's%20Secret%20FINAL%20Cover.jpg?width=1575&name=Chef's%20Secret%20FINAL%20Cover.jpg "Chef's Secret FINAL Cover") #### **THE CHEF'S SECRET (Atria Books/Simon & Schuster)** **THE CHEF'S SECRET, **the second historical novel by Crystal King, is set in Renaissance Rome, detailing the mysterious life of one of the most famous chefs in history. **THE CHEF'S SECRET** tells the story of Bartolomeo Scappi, the private chef to four Popes and the author of one of history’s best selling cookbooks. His nephew and apprentice, Giovanni, is on a quest to find out the truth about his uncle and the fifty-year love affair that the chef hid from the world.  **THE CHEF'S SECRET**  is a fictional retelling of the life of Bartolomeo Scappi, who lived in sixteenth century Rome. When his cookbook, *L’Opera*, was published in 1570, it became the world’s best-selling cookbook for the next two hundred years. ##### ***Buy at these fine sites:*** ![dot](https://www.crystalking.com/hs-fs/hubfs/dot.png?width=20&name=dot.png "dot") ![feastpaperback](https://www.crystalking.com/hs-fs/hubfs/feastpaperback.jpg?width=328&name=feastpaperback.jpg "feastpaperback") #### **FEAST OF SORROW: A NOVEL OF ANCIENT ROME  ****(Atria Books/Simon & Schuster)**  Set amongst the scandal, wealth, and upstairs-downstairs politics of a Roman family, Crystal King’s seminal debut, **FEAST OF SORROW**, features the man who inspired the world’s oldest cookbook and the ambition that led to his destruction. On a blistering day in the twenty-sixth year of Augustus Caesar’s reign, a young chef, Thrasius, is acquired for the exorbitant price of twenty thousand denarii. His purchaser is the infamous gourmet Marcus Gavius Apicius, wealthy beyond measure, obsessed with a taste for fine meals from exotic places, and a singular ambition: to serve as culinary advisor to Caesar, an honor that will cement his legacy as Rome's leading epicure. ##### ***Buy at these fine sites:*** ![dot](https://www.crystalking.com/hs-fs/hubfs/dot.png?width=50&name=dot.png "dot") ![dark fruit](https://www.crystalking.com/hubfs/dark%20fruit.png "dark fruit") CONNECT WITH CRYSTAL - [**](http://www.facebook.com/crystallynking) - [**](http://www.twitter.com/crystallyn) - [**](http://www.instagram.com/crystallyn14) - [**](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCREuBdccpdvYx-asb4RZp4w) *Crystal King is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Bookshop.org and Roscioli Wine Club. The book business isn't a generally lucrative one and these affiliate advertising programs are designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to these retailers. * ### Sign up for Updates Copyright © 2020 Crystal King [Privacy Policy](http://crystalking.com/privacy-policy) and [Disclosures](http://crystalking.com/disclosures) ![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=1481231558851356&ev=PageView&noscript=1)