{"product_id":"before-mrs-beeton-englands-most-influential-housekeeper","title":"Before Mrs Beeton: England's Most Influential Housekeeper","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Experienced English Housekeeper\u003c\/em\u003e, published in 1769, ran to more than twenty editions, shaped British cooking in ways that persist today, and was drawn on so heavily by Isabella Beeton that Beeton's later fame has obscured its author Elizabeth Raffald's importance. Raffald also founded a cookery school, ran a high-end Manchester tavern, compiled the first street directory of that city, established what amounted to the first domestic staffing agency in England, and wrote a book on midwifery. Her husband's alcoholism bankrupted her twice, and she ended her days in a disreputable coffeehouse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eNeil Buttery, a food historian with a popular blog and podcast, reconstructs her world as well as her life. Raffald was among the third of the British population that could read, she spoke French, and she entered service at the precise moment when medieval assumptions about the servant-employer relationship were giving way to something more contractual.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eHer publishing instincts were equally well-calibrated: she was an early and aggressive exploiter of England's emerging copyright protections. Buttery moves through trade and empire, the agricultural revolution, gentlemen's clubs, and the gradual removal of midwifery from women's hands, showing of Raffald fit in a transforming world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eSome familiarity with British culinary traditions will serve readers well. Those who bring it will find this a richly detailed account of a figure whose influence on English food far outlasted her recognition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardcover. Color and black-and-white plates.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CASE","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41691263434885,"sku":"Neil Buttery","price":39.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0297\/5046\/0549\/files\/ButteryBeforeMrsBeetonCover.jpg?v=1783082707","url":"https:\/\/www.kitchenartsandletters.com\/products\/before-mrs-beeton-englands-most-influential-housekeeper","provider":"Kitchen Arts \u0026 Letters","version":"1.0","type":"link"}