Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Before There was Martha
Last night’s Masterpiece Theatre aired “The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton.” How could I have not known about this woman! She invented the modern recipe format. Isabella Mary Beeton was a no nonsense Victorian woman who married a for love. Mr. Beeton a visionary publisher believed in making how-to magazines and books available to the masses (sound familiar). Isabella contributed a column or to Mr. Beeton’s The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine, scandalizing her family by going into work every day. She authored the monumental work Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management, which presented hundreds of recipes for the masses. Isabella was not much of a cook, but she painstakingly tested recipes sent in by readers of the magazine. What an extraordinary woman. Now I wonder if she has a crafty side…
