I have been reading several articles and obituaries by newspapers published shortly after Fanny Cradock died in 1994. Almost all mention her "scandalous" private life and "bigamy", the gossip that she kept "uppers and downers by her bedside" which she called "Fanny's hundreds and thousands".
Her culinary career is ultimately remembered for its flamboyance- particularly the use of pale green died mashed potatoes. Despite there being no surviving footage of her "colourful cookery" series, its evident that its theme is very formative in her "brand" The concept of a brand is also evident in quotes from those closest to her included in her biography, such as her assistant Wendy Colvin who claimed that Fanny "didn't seem real" and "made herself up as she went along"
Furthering the vagueness of her identity, she started her career as a prolific author under the psuedonym "Drances Dale" and even had a series of eleaborate and staged authors photographs taken to endorse the story of "glamour" that she constructed around herself. She insisted in her autobiography "somethings buring" that her surname at birth "Pechey" was in fact an anglicised version of "De' peche".
The aura of Fanny Cradock's persona and legacy is undoubtedly "haunting" and , although contrary to her own conservatism, adjacent to drag performance and art. I have previously drawn comparison to Queer artist Victoria Sin's work, and I think Fannys story of character impersonation and ridicule is typical of what can be considered a "Gay Icon". Similarly, Joan Crawford's struggles for recognition in her later life and Hollywood career have earned her infamy in the queer community as a gay icon, despite her likely conservative attitude towards queer culture.
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