Mrs. Beeton’s Cookery

6W Mrs. Isabella Beeton. With colored plates and illustrations. London: Ward, Lock & Co., ca. 1950

Notes

Mrs. Beeton’s Cookery is one of the practical household guides associated with Isabella Beeton, whose writings on domestic management became widely influential in Victorian Britain. First gaining fame through Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management in 1861, her works offered detailed instructions on cooking, household organization, budgeting, and the duties of running a well-managed home. Books such as Everyday Cookery continued this tradition by presenting clear recipes and practical advice designed for the ordinary household, reflecting the growing Victorian interest in efficiency, cleanliness, and the orderly running of domestic life. Over time, Mrs. Beeton’s name became synonymous with reliable household instruction, and her books remained widely used in British homes for generations.

Isabella Beeton (1836–1865) compiled and edited her famous household manuals while working with her husband, the publisher Samuel Orchart Beeton. Though she died at a young age, her name endured as one of the most recognizable authorities on Victorian domestic life. The cultural influence of her work was such that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in his study of married life “A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus,” humorously observed through his heroine that “Mrs. Beeton must have been the finest housekeeper in the world. Therefore, Mr. Beeton must have been the happiest and most comfortable man,” adding that her book “has more wisdom to the square inch than any work of man.” The remark reflects the lasting reputation Mrs. Beeton’s writings achieved as practical guides to the art of running a household.

Description

Blue canvas binding with yellow lettering to spine. Original pictorial jacket. Foxing along edges. Tape marks to endpapers. Interior clean. Very good condition.