Mrs Beeton

Well my first choice of library books has been a biography on Mrs Beeton!! The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs. Beeton: The First Domestic Goddess.

I thought after enjoying all my culinary experiments and learning how to run a household in the last year it would be worth reading about the woman behind the book.

For those Americans who read my blog and those Brits who don't know here's a wee summary of Mrs Beeton's famous book and a wee bit about her!

"Published in 1861, Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management was a guide to all aspects of running a household in Victorian Britain.

Its 2751 entries include tips on how to deal with servants' pay and children's health, and above all a wealth of cooking advice, instructions and recipes. It was an immediate bestseller, running to millions of copies within just a few years.

Perhaps surprisingly, author Isabella Beeton was just 21 years old when she started working on the book, and she died young at 28.

The book gives a charming and historically significant insight into Victorian domestic management.

Although its entries have little practical relevance today the name "Mrs Beeton" still has iconic status in Britain: most people recognize it and know its connotations, although very few have actually come into contact with the book itself.

Today's superstar chefs (especially Delia Smith) might be seen as the direct descendants of Mrs Beeton, who saw as they did the need to provide reassuring advice on culinary matters for the British middle classes, the Industrial Revolution having sealed the demise of traditional rural cooking skills"

the Biography is very interesting and they have found out so much about her geneology. So it explains where her family comes from and how she gained her skills... so worth a read- even just to laugh at the funny way we used to live our lives!!

If you are interested click here for the Mrs Beeton website

You can buy the book I am reading from Amazon (hopefully the link works!)