would have destroyed the work of the herbalist in England. Influential friends rallied to Leyel's support, and the bill was modified to enable patients to obtain treatment upon joining the society. She also joined Sir Albert Howard in his campaign for compost versus synthetic fertilizers, and those working for pure water and food. Cookery Leyel was a proponent of a simpler style of cooking, turning away from the Victorian 'high class' cookery and favouring seasonal and local ingredients. Her influence was acknowledged by Elizabeth David, who in an article for The Spectator in July 1963 wrote 'I wonder if I would ever have learned to cook at all had I been given a routine Mrs Beeton [i.e. Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management] to learn from instead of the romantic Mrs Leyel, with her rather wild and imagination-catching recipes'. Although Elizabeth David praised Leyel's writing, which she described as 'fresh and alluring', she questioned whether the recipes would work, describing them as 'sketchy in the extreme' and 'another manifestation of the English love affair with Eastern food and Arabian Nights Ingredients'. Works In 1931 Leyel edited Maud Grieve's A Modern Herbal in two volumes. She herself wrote a long series of works on herbs, including Herbal Delights (1937), Compassionate Herbs (1946), Elixirs of Life (1948), Hearts-Ease (1949), Green Medicine (1952), and Cinquefoil (1957), as well as others on cooking including Picnics for Motorists (1936). Picnic for Motorists (1936) evokes, according to food historian Polly Russell, 'the romance of empty roads, endless summers and carefully packed hampers' Walter Levy claims that 'despite its title Picnic for Motorists is often unpicknicky', that is, unsuitable for an excursion or outdoor eating. The book lists 60 picnic menus, the first of which 'suggests melon, cold chicken pie, ham and pea salad, chocolate mousse and cream cheese and crescent rolls' Leyel is said by Russell to have 'eclectic' tastes as the book has recipes for 'Indian pie with rice, German pie and Chinese orange salad'. Honors and retirement Leyel was a fellow of the Royal Institution, and an officer of l'Académie française. She received the Palmes Académiques of France in 1924, for her work in supporting disabled service personnel and the work she did with the Society of Herbalists. She died in the Harley Street Nursing Home at 35 Weymouth Street in London on 15 April 1957. References External links ‘Picnics for Motorists’, by Mrs