A cookbook by the author of "The Three Musketeers" and "The Count of Monte Cristo" may seen an improbability. Yet Alexandre Dumas was an expert cook -- -his love of food was said to be equalled only by his love of women -- and his "Great Dictionary of Cuisine," written "to be read by worldly people and used by professionals" and published posthumously in 1873, is a masterpiece in its own right.

This abridged version of the "Dictionary" is designed to be both useful and entertaining. There are hundreds of recipes for sauces, soups, meat, fish, eggs, poultry and game well within the scope of...