Mrs Beeton – super cook

Press, 31 March 1981, Page 14

Mrs Beeton - super cook

The name, Mrs Beeton, is well-remembered in English cookery. Her famous book /‘Mrs " Beeton’s Household Management” was eagerly sought by home-makers who wanted to learn the art of cooking and running a home. Whatever the problem, Mrs Beeton had-- the answer, whether , it was choosing meat, caring for a sick child or coping with a trifling legal matter. The 1600-page volume was a lot more than a recipe book although' it contained plenty of recipes. Such wide understanding would suggest that Mrs Beeton was an imposing authority. In fact she was a gentle young woman of 21, with a loving heart and a flair for cookery, as well as having a lot of practical experience in home-making. Mrs Beeton was only 10 years old when she began to learn the ropes of household management. Isabella Mayson, as she was then, was one of,a family of four children. Her. father had died, and her mother had remarried. Isabella’s stepfather was the Clerk to. the Course at the famous Epsom Race Track.' His home was an apartment under the grand-

stand at the racecourse, where he lived with his 13 children. The addition of the Mayson family-made a total of 17 children. Isabella was the eldest and she soon learned to cook, and to care for sick children. When she was 21 Isabella married a journalist and magazine publisher/Samuel Beeton. A popular feature of one of his magazines was recipes. This gave Isabella the idea of compiling a recipe book. It took about one year to complete, and was published first in weekly parts. .- ■ The book ■ was a great v success from .the start. ; Isabella's medical notes were said to be excellent, but they did not benefit her own health. She died in 1865 at (the age of 29. ‘‘Mrs 'Beeton’s Household 'Management”, has been (revised and reprinted from time to time in the last (century. The most recent edition in the Canterbury (Public Library (reference I section) was published in 1968. It would seem that people still like to run their homes “according to Mrs Beeton.”