Rocky road : the incredible true story of the fractured family behind the Darrell Lea chocolate empire / Robert Wainwright.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wainwright, Robert, 1961- author.

Contributor:

Class of 1924 Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Families.

Family-owned business enterprises.

History.

Confectionery.

Australia.

Everitt, Valerie.

Lea, Montague.

Darrell Lea.

Confectionery--Australia--History.

Family-owned business enterprises--Australia--History.

Families--Australia--Biography.

Genre:

Biographies.

History.

Physical Description:

414 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour), portraits (some colour) ; 24 cm

regular print

Place of Publication:

Sydney, N.S.W. : Allen & Unwin, 2018.

Summary:

In the early 1930s, the Australian family confectionery company Darrell Lea was a sensation, its shops stacked with delicious chocolates, marshmallows, nougat and much more in line with the company's motto to 'Stack 'em high, watch 'em fly'. It was at this time that Montague Lea met the vivacious teenage 'ticket writer' Valerie Everitt. Monty fell hard for her and, despite strong family opposition on both sides, they would marry. Valerie was keen to have a large brood and, though her pregnancies were difficult, she gave birth to four children. But they were not enough and in 1947 she adopted the first of three more children who were designed to be playmates for her own. It was a social experiment that would end in tears, as would the fortunes of the iconic company, destroyed by the glue that once bound it together - family. Rocky Road is the story of this chocaholic clan and the creative and eccentric woman who dominated it. Behind the irresistible sweetness of Darrell Lea lay a family who made bitter sacrifices to succeed in the candy business.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Class of 1924 Book Fund.

ISBN:

9781760291556

1760291552

OCLC:

1042321155