Mrs Beeton
Encyclopedia
Isabella Mary Beeton (12 March 1836 – 6 February 1865), universally known as Mrs Beeton, was the English author of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management
, and is one of the most famous cookery writers.
Isabella was born at 24 Milk Street, Cheapside
, London, England. Her father, Benjamin Mayson, died when she was young and her mother, Elizabeth Jerram, later married Henry Dorling
, who was a widower and had four children of his own. They lived in Epsom
, Surrey
where Henry was Clerk of Epsom Racecourse
. Isabella was sent to school in Heidelberg
, Germany, for two years where she became an accomplished pianist and afterwards returned to Epsom.
Her nephew was Ulster Unionist Party
MP Sir Walter Smiles
, her great-niece being Patricia Ford, Lady Fisher
, also a UUP MP.
, was also born in Milk Street. Even after the move to Epsom their two mothers had kept in touch. On a visit to London, Isabella was introduced to Samuel Beeton, who had become a publisher of books and popular magazines. They were married on 10 July 1856 at St Martin's Parish Church, Epsom
. In August of that year they moved into their first home, a large Italianate property at 2 Chandos Villas on the Woodridings Estate in Hatch End
.
Their first child, Samuel Orchart, was born in May 1857 but died of croup
in August of that year. In September 1859, their second son, also named Samuel Orchart, was born.
During her time in Hatch End Isabella began to write articles on cooking and household management for her husband's publications. In 1859–1861, she wrote a monthly supplement to The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine
. On December 25, 1861, the supplements were published as a single volume, The Book of Household Management, comprising information for the Mistress, Housekeeper
, Cook
, Kitchen-Maid
, Butler
, Footman
, Coachman
, Valet
, Upper and Under House-Maids, Lady’s-Maid
, Maid-of-all-Work, Laundry
-Maid, Nurse and Nurse-Maid, Monthly Wet
and Sick Nurses, etc. etc.—also Sanitary, Medical, & Legal Memoranda: with a History of the Origin, Properties, and Uses of all Things Connected with Home Life and Comfort.
In 1861, Samuel Beeton founded The Queen, the Ladies' Newspaper
, a weekly magazine for ladies, but not fashion oriented at first. It focused on high society and detailed London social events. The articles covered occupations, literature, and other amusements suitable for proper ladies. In 1862, Beeton sold The Queen to William Cox.
The Beetons left Hatch End in the autumn of 1861.
In December of that year their son was taken ill with scarlet fever
while on holiday in Brighton
. He died on New Year's Eve. Mrs. Beeton gave birth to two other sons, Orchart (on New Year's Eve in 1863) and Mayson Moss (in January 1865). Orchart went on to lead a prosperous life in the army and Mayson initially followed in his father's footsteps as a publisher and later as a journalist.
Their home at Hatch End was destroyed by a German bomb during an air-raid
in September 1940 and the site is now occupied by a parade of shops. However, they are still remembered in the name of a nearby road, Beeton Close.
Popularly known as Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management
, it was a guide to running a Victorian
household, with advice on fashion
, childcare
, animal husbandry
, poison
s, the management of servants
, science
, religion
, and industrialism. In this book Mrs Beeton also highlights the importance of both animal welfare and the use of local and seasonal produce, long before such concerns became mainstream.
Of the 1,112 pages, over 900 contained recipe
s, such that another popular name for the volume is Mrs Beeton's Cookbook. Most of the recipes were illustrated with coloured engravings, and it was the first book to show recipes in a format that is still used today. It is said that many of the recipes were actually plagiarised from earlier writers (including Eliza Acton
), but the Beetons never claimed that the book's contents were original. It was intended as a guide of reliable information for the aspirant middle classes. Mrs Beeton is perhaps described better as its compiler and editor than as its author, many of the passages clearly being not her own words.
The day after the birth of her fourth child, in January 1865, Isabella contracted puerperal fever
. She died a week later, aged 28. Her widower lived for another twelve years and died of tuberculosis
in June 1877 at the age of 46.
Both are buried at West Norwood Cemetery
in south London under a simple headstone
.
television broadcast a biographical drama, The Secret Life of Mrs Beeton, with Anna Madeley
in the title role. This tended to emphasise Mrs Beeton's feminist credentials, as well as playing on the assumption that many viewers would have been unaware of her relative youth when she wrote her books and her early death.
The TV drama, directed by Jon Jones, implied (as put forth in Kathryn Hughes' biography) that Isabella Beeton suffered from syphilis
contracted from her husband, and that this may possibly have led to her death and those of her two children, although there is no firm evidence for this speculation. A documentary for the BBC by Sophie Dahl
transmitted on BBC2 on 29 September 2011 suggested that it was unlikely that Mrs. Beeton would have died of syphilis at the early age of 28, although it was probable that both her husband and she contracted the disease and that she had passed it on to their first two children who died in infancy.
Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management
Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management was a guide to all aspects of running a household in Victorian Britain, edited by Isabella Beeton. It was originally entitled "Beeton's Book of Household Management", in line with the other guide-books published by Beeton.Previously published as a part...
, and is one of the most famous cookery writers.
Background
Cheapside
Cheapside is a street in the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Mansion House Street. To the east is Mansion House, the Bank of England, and the major road junction above Bank tube station. To the west is St. Paul's Cathedral, St...
, London, England. Her father, Benjamin Mayson, died when she was young and her mother, Elizabeth Jerram, later married Henry Dorling
Henry Dorling
Henry Dorling was the first clerk to the course at Epsom Downs Racecourse and cookery writer Mrs Beeton's stepfather.Dorling's father was a bookseller in Epsom, and Henry was apprenticed to a printer, returning to Epsom in 1834 to join his father's business, where he printed race cards for the...
, who was a widower and had four children of his own. They lived in Epsom
Epsom
Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. Small parts of Epsom are in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. The town is located south-south-west of Charing Cross, within the Greater London Urban Area. The town lies on the chalk downland of Epsom Downs.-History:Epsom lies...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
where Henry was Clerk of Epsom Racecourse
Epsom Downs Racecourse
Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse near Epsom, Surrey, England. The "downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course is best known for hosting the Epsom Derby, the United Kingdom's premier thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old colts and fillies, over a mile and a half...
. Isabella was sent to school in Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, Germany, for two years where she became an accomplished pianist and afterwards returned to Epsom.
Her nephew was Ulster Unionist Party
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
MP Sir Walter Smiles
Walter Dorling Smiles
Lt Col Sir Walter Dorling Smiles CIE DSO DL was a Northern Irish politician.Sir Walter was the son of William Holmes Smiles, director of Belfast Ropeworks, and grandson of Samuel Smiles...
, her great-niece being Patricia Ford, Lady Fisher
Patricia Ford (politician)
Patricia Ford, Lady Fisher was an Ulster Unionist Party politician in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom...
, also a UUP MP.
Marriage and career
Isabella's husband, Samuel Orchart BeetonSamuel Orchart Beeton
Samuel Orchart Beeton was an English publisher, best known as the husband of Mrs Beeton and publisher of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management....
, was also born in Milk Street. Even after the move to Epsom their two mothers had kept in touch. On a visit to London, Isabella was introduced to Samuel Beeton, who had become a publisher of books and popular magazines. They were married on 10 July 1856 at St Martin's Parish Church, Epsom
Epsom
Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. Small parts of Epsom are in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. The town is located south-south-west of Charing Cross, within the Greater London Urban Area. The town lies on the chalk downland of Epsom Downs.-History:Epsom lies...
. In August of that year they moved into their first home, a large Italianate property at 2 Chandos Villas on the Woodridings Estate in Hatch End
Hatch End
Hatch End is a place in the London Borough of Harrow, located north west of Charing Cross in Central London. The suburb is part of the Pinner post town.-Attractions:...
.
Their first child, Samuel Orchart, was born in May 1857 but died of croup
Croup
Croup is a respiratory condition that is usually triggered by an acute viral infection of the upper airway. The infection leads to swelling inside the throat, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classical symptoms of a "barking" cough, stridor, and hoarseness...
in August of that year. In September 1859, their second son, also named Samuel Orchart, was born.
During her time in Hatch End Isabella began to write articles on cooking and household management for her husband's publications. In 1859–1861, she wrote a monthly supplement to The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine
The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine
The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine was a magazine published by Samuel Orchart Beeton from 1852 to 1879, with a supplement written by his wife Mrs Beeton between 1859 and 1861: these supplements were later collected as her Book of Household Management. His intention was that it should "tend to...
. On December 25, 1861, the supplements were published as a single volume, The Book of Household Management, comprising information for the Mistress, Housekeeper
Housekeeper (servant)
A housekeeper is an individual responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of the interior of a residence, including direction of subordinate maids...
, Cook
Cook (profession)
A cook is a person who prepares food for consumption. In Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Canada this profession requires government approval ....
, Kitchen-Maid
Kitchen maid
-Great house kitchen maid:A kitchen maid is a young maid, or junior female servant. In the hierarchy of a great house she ranked below a cook and above a scullery maid...
, Butler
Butler
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
, Footman
Footman
A footman is a male servant, notably as domestic staff.-Word history:The name derives from the attendants who ran beside or behind the carriages of aristocrats, many of whom were chosen for their physical attributes. They ran alongside the coach to make sure it was not overturned by such obstacles...
, Coachman
Coachman
A coachman is a man whose business it is to drive a coach, a horse-drawn vehicle designed for the conveyance of more than one passenger — and of mail — and covered for protection from the elements...
, Valet
Valet
Valet and varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer.- Word origins :In the Middle Ages, the valet de chambre to a ruler was a prestigious appointment for young men...
, Upper and Under House-Maids, Lady’s-Maid
Lady's maid
A lady's maid is a female personal attendant who waits on the lady of the house. The position is very similar to a gentleman's valet. Traditionally, in eras past, the lady's maid was not as high-ranking as a lady's companion, who was a retainer rather than a servant, but the rewards included room...
, Maid-of-all-Work, Laundry
Laundry
Laundry is a noun that refers to the act of washing clothing and linens, the place where that washing is done, and/or that which needs to be, is being, or has been laundered...
-Maid, Nurse and Nurse-Maid, Monthly Wet
Wet nurse
A wet nurse is a woman who is used to breast feed and care for another's child. Wet nurses are used when the mother is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cultures the families are linked by a special relationship of...
and Sick Nurses, etc. etc.—also Sanitary, Medical, & Legal Memoranda: with a History of the Origin, Properties, and Uses of all Things Connected with Home Life and Comfort.
In 1861, Samuel Beeton founded The Queen, the Ladies' Newspaper
Queen (magazine)
Queen magazine was a British society publication established by Samuel Beeton in 1861. In 1958, the magazine was sold to Jocelyn Stevens, who dropped the prefix "The" and used it as his vehicle to represent the younger side of the British Establishment, sometimes referred to as the "Chelsea Set"...
, a weekly magazine for ladies, but not fashion oriented at first. It focused on high society and detailed London social events. The articles covered occupations, literature, and other amusements suitable for proper ladies. In 1862, Beeton sold The Queen to William Cox.
The Beetons left Hatch End in the autumn of 1861.
In December of that year their son was taken ill with scarlet fever
Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever is a disease caused by exotoxin released by Streptococcus pyogenes. Once a major cause of death, it is now effectively treated with antibiotics...
while on holiday in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
. He died on New Year's Eve. Mrs. Beeton gave birth to two other sons, Orchart (on New Year's Eve in 1863) and Mayson Moss (in January 1865). Orchart went on to lead a prosperous life in the army and Mayson initially followed in his father's footsteps as a publisher and later as a journalist.
Their home at Hatch End was destroyed by a German bomb during an air-raid
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
in September 1940 and the site is now occupied by a parade of shops. However, they are still remembered in the name of a nearby road, Beeton Close.
Book of Household Management
Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management
Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management was a guide to all aspects of running a household in Victorian Britain, edited by Isabella Beeton. It was originally entitled "Beeton's Book of Household Management", in line with the other guide-books published by Beeton.Previously published as a part...
, it was a guide to running a Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
household, with advice on fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
, childcare
Childcare
Child care means caring for and supervising child/children usually from 0–13 years of age. In the United States child care is increasingly referred to as early childhood education due to the understanding of the impact of early experiences of the developing child...
, animal husbandry
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
, poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
s, the management of servants
Domestic worker
A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...
, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, and industrialism. In this book Mrs Beeton also highlights the importance of both animal welfare and the use of local and seasonal produce, long before such concerns became mainstream.
Of the 1,112 pages, over 900 contained recipe
Recipe
A recipe is a set of instructions that describe how to prepare or make something, especially a culinary dish.-Components:Modern culinary recipes normally consist of several components*The name of the dish...
s, such that another popular name for the volume is Mrs Beeton's Cookbook. Most of the recipes were illustrated with coloured engravings, and it was the first book to show recipes in a format that is still used today. It is said that many of the recipes were actually plagiarised from earlier writers (including Eliza Acton
Eliza Acton
Elizabeth "Eliza" Acton was an English poet and cook who produced one of the country's first cookbooks aimed at the domestic reader rather than the professional cook or chef, Modern Cookery for Private Families. In this book she introduced the now-universal practice of listing the ingredients and...
), but the Beetons never claimed that the book's contents were original. It was intended as a guide of reliable information for the aspirant middle classes. Mrs Beeton is perhaps described better as its compiler and editor than as its author, many of the passages clearly being not her own words.
Early death
Puerperal fever
Puerperal fever or childbed fever, is a bacterial infection contracted by women during childbirth or miscarriage. It can develop into puerperal sepsis, which is a serious form of septicaemia. If untreated, it is often fatal....
. She died a week later, aged 28. Her widower lived for another twelve years and died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in June 1877 at the age of 46.
Both are buried at West Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery is a cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery.One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries of London, and is a site of major historical, architectural and...
in south London under a simple headstone
Headstone
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. In most cases they have the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on them, along with a personal message, or prayer.- Use :...
.
The Secret Life of Mrs Beeton (2006)
In 2006, BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television broadcast a biographical drama, The Secret Life of Mrs Beeton, with Anna Madeley
Anna Madeley
Anna Madeley is a British actress. She has been described by the British Theatre Guide's Philip Fisher as one of the United Kingdom's "brightest and most versatile young actresses".-Biography:...
in the title role. This tended to emphasise Mrs Beeton's feminist credentials, as well as playing on the assumption that many viewers would have been unaware of her relative youth when she wrote her books and her early death.
The TV drama, directed by Jon Jones, implied (as put forth in Kathryn Hughes' biography) that Isabella Beeton suffered from syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
contracted from her husband, and that this may possibly have led to her death and those of her two children, although there is no firm evidence for this speculation. A documentary for the BBC by Sophie Dahl
Sophie Dahl
Sophie Dahl , born Sophie Holloway, is an English author and former model. She was born in London, the daughter of actor Julian Holloway and writer Tessa Dahl. Her maternal grandparents were author Roald Dahl and actress Patricia Neal. Her paternal grandparents were actor Stanley Holloway and...
transmitted on BBC2 on 29 September 2011 suggested that it was unlikely that Mrs. Beeton would have died of syphilis at the early age of 28, although it was probable that both her husband and she contracted the disease and that she had passed it on to their first two children who died in infancy.
External links
- Online edition of Household Management
- Searchable online version of Beeton's Book of Household Management
- Online version of Beeton's Book of Household Management with original illustrations (various formats)
- Guardian article on "plagiarism"
- Unabridged audiobook at LibriVoxLibriVoxLibriVox is an online digital library of free public domain audiobooks, read by volunteers and is probably, since 2007, the world's most prolific audiobook publisher...