A Jane Austen Household Book -... by Hickman, Peggy

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by Hickman, Peggy

Dust jacket notes: "Based on an hitherto unpublished Austen household recipe book, this is a work to delight Janeites, social historians and cooks everywhere. In it, material from the novelist's letters and books, as well as family recollections, is combined with culinary and medicinal hints compiled at the end of the eighteenth century by Martha Lloyd, who lived with the Austen ladies for many years and eventually married Jane's elder brother. Martha's hand-written household book, now the property of the Jane Austen Memorial Trust, has been sympathetically and often amusingly dissected by Mrs Hickman to provide a fascinating picture of domestic life at that time. The day to day affairs of the Austens and their circle reflect the general preoccupations of the 'middling people' during that period, especially the pleasures of the table. We are thus able to follow changes in appetites and the times of meals; to chart cooking innovations from open fires to iron ranges; to observe fluctuating food prices and marvel at the ingenuity of preserving food in special ice houses. The selected recipes - whether for cowheel soup, a receipt to curry after the Indian manner, a very good orange pudding, pickled samphire and cowslip wine, or to cure worms, a receipt for the ague, and even to whiten silk stockings - are both intriguing and worthy of experimentation. Charmingly illustrated, this informative and entertaining volume will prove a source of pleasure for a wide readership, adding a new dimension to Jane Austen's novels and giving today's cooks new opportunities for inspired creativity."
ISBN: 9780715375587.
Publisher: David & Charles.
Published Year: 1977.