Product Description

She was the 19th century's Martha Stewart, and she is responsible for organizing the rules of domestic life into the first easy-to-follow guide. British writer ISABELLA MARY BEETON (1836-1865) caused a sensation in 1861 when she published her guide to proper Victorian housekeeping, known under various unofficial titles, including Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management. Eminently browsable and still highly useful today, Beeton's tome is a masterly compendium of practical information, and covers such essential topics as: . recipes of cooking all manner of meat, fish, vegetable, pudding, and pastry . hints on the proper arrangement of a functional kitchen . ideas for table decorations (including the correct way to fold napkins) . tips for carving poultry . charts on the seasons and prices (in the 1800s, of course) of all manner of edibles . and much more. This charming replica of the "new and greatly enlarged" 1890 edition features all of the original diagrams, illustrations, menus, lists, and other particulars and minutiae that made this work so beloved in its day, and continues to ensure its popularity today.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #542605 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 308 pages

Customer Reviews

Interesting Look Back
This book is more a fascinating artifact than a usable cookbook for today, but it is quite fascinating. It's a facsimile reprint of the 1890 edition, and gives a look back into English society of the late 1800s. The type is small, but is readable. It has LOTS of pictures, i.e. a whole page of cakes, or meats, or cooking utensils. A lot of attention is paid to presentation of the meal, with molded desserts, platters of fish, instructions on how to fold napkins into fans or palm leaves, etc. It also gives cooking times for every type of meat imaginable... but how useful that is for today is debatable, as it assumes "good average fires". This book is worth a look if you're into history as well as cooking.

Kitschy, not for practical use.
I'm a cookbook collector which is why I bought this book. It stops there. I'm one who likes to USE my collection and this book is impossible to read. The printing is miniscule.

While I think its a pretty cool thing to own, its useless.