Southover Press Historic Cookery and Housekeeping Series

The Complete Servant. by Samuel and Sarah Adams First published in 1825. A fascinating source of social history and a guide to backstairs living in both large and modest houses of the late Georgian era. Advice to employers and their servants from an ex-butler and an ex-housekeeper, dealing not only with the kitchen but also with the house, stables and garden, and with an unusual section on menservants' duties over a period when little is known about them. 30 categories of servants' duties are discussed, and also the duties of employers toward them; these last are surprisingly humane and tolerant. Introduction by Pamela Horn. 182p, 47 b/w illus., (1998).ISBN 1870962095. Paperback. Price US $23.95 (In Stock)

The Boke of Keruynge (Book of Carving), 1508 By Wynken de Worde, Intro and commentary by Peter Brears. The rituals of dining were complicated in great Tudor houses. Well-born boys were sent to learn them in a lord's house. This work is a manual for training boys for the courtly life which includes instructions on the duties of the pantryman and butler, waiting at table, the ritual of folding the many layers of tablecloth, and the preparation, carving and saucing of the meats, fishes and wines available then. Printed in beautifully-cut black letter with a translation/interpretation, glossary and notes. Peter Brears, museum director and historian, who has many years' practical experience in using this manual for reconstructions, writes an Introduction and provides a commentary, with fine drawings and diagrams. Also included is a short biography of Wynken de Worde -- Caxton's assistant. 160 p. illus. Hardback. ISBN: 1-870962-19-2. 2003. $27.00 (In Stock)

A Culinary Campaign by Alexis Soyer Soyer's brilliant memoir, published in 1856 and never since reprinted. A vivid account of the Crimean War and of Soyer's inventions and recipes for feeding armies in the field. He was as important in the Crimea as Florence Nightingale, for his influence on the reform of army feeding enabled wounded soldiers to survive. A modified version of the Soyer stove was still in use in the Gulf War. Introductions by Elizabeth Ray and military historian Michael Barthorp. 356p, 20 b/w engravings, (Southover Press, 1999).ISBN 1870962117. Hardback. Price US $39.95 (In Stock)

Beeton's Book of Household Management. by Isabella Beeton First published in 1861. Facsimile of the very rare first impression of the first edition with its splendid colour plates. This was Isabella Beeton's collection of the recipes that appeared in her husband's The English Woman's Domestic Magazine which ran for the three years (1859-61). It was to become the best-known cookery book in the English language, and covers not only cookery but also the management and duties of servants, legal affairs, medical matters and more. All recipes were edited, rewritten and personally tested by Isabella Beeton. 1152p, 26 col plates, num illus., 1998. SBN 187096215X. Hardback. Price US $49.95 (In Stock)

The Good Housewife's Jewel. by Thomas Dawson First published in 1596. One of the earliest cookery books for the growing middle classes in Elizabethan England, contemporary with Shakespeare's Much Ado and Merry Wives. Many of the recipes are cookable today. Introduction by Maggie Black. 160p, b/w illus., 1998. ISBN 1870962125. Hardback. Price US $24.95

The Cookery Book of Lady Clark of Tillypronie. by Lady Clark of Tillypronie, Introduction by Geraldene Holt. First published in 1909. This unabridged reprint makes it possible, for the first time since the original edition of ninety years ago, to cook from, read and enjoy Lady Clark's great book. Lady Clark began her cookery notebooks in the 1840s and kept on with them until her death in the late 19th century. This valuable collection of recipes, with variations, shows us what food was eaten during that time and is a particularly stimulating source book for anyone interested in cooking. Introduction by Geraldene Holt. 423p, b/w illus., 1998. ISBN 1870962109. Hardback. Price US $39.95 (In Stock)

The French Cook. Francois Pierre La Varenne. Published in 1651, this revolutionary recipe book represents a move away from peasant traditions, and lays the foundations of classic French cuisine. La Varenne's was the first recipe book to receive international acclaim, and influenced European cookery for many centuries to come. Little is known of La Varenne's life, or if he was responsible for the considerable innovations that appear in his books, but he was certainly the first to write them down. They include recipes for omelettes, ragouts, bisques and caramel, new ways of spicing and flavouring dishes, many new technical terms and such as a la mode, au bleu, and au naturel, and countless other ideas that had not been known before and have now become part of our repertoire. Introduction by Philip and Mary Hyman, whose knowledge of Varenne is unrivalled. 280p, 1999. ISBN 1870962176. Hardback. Price US $39.95 (In Stock)

The English Bread Book. by Eliza Acton. The last of Eliza Acton's great books, published two years before her death in 1859. It is not only a splendid collection of bread recipes of all sorts, from household bread to Sally Lunns; it is also a polemic on healthy eating. There are chapters on flours, yeasts, ovens and bread baking for beginners, all written in her usual pure and engaging style. Elizabeth Ray, the well-known food writer and authority on Eliza Acton, contributes an informative general introduction to this handsome reprint. 183p, 10 b/w illus., 1998. ISBN 1870962044. Hardback. Price US $22.95 (In Stock)

Modern Cookery for Private Families. by Eliza Acton. (First published in 1845) Reprint of the extended edition of 1855 as edited by Eliza Acton. The most widely used of all the Victorian cookery books, much admired for its limpid style and incomparable recipes, and for the classic English style it represents. Eliza Acton's receipts show English cookery at its very best, before the over-elaboration of late Victorianism overtook it. She was writing for small families, so quantities in the recipes hardly need to be altered. Her personality shows strongly all through her book: she was precise, orderly, very observant, and mistress of an estimable prose style. With an introduction by Elizabeth Ray, who unearths some previously unknown facts about Eliza's life. 544p, many engravings, 1998. ISBN 1870962087. Hardback. Price US $45.00 (In stock)

The Experienced English Housekeeper. by Elizabeth Raffald. First published in 1769. The introduction by Roy Shipperbottom is the fruit of extensive research into the life of the extraordinary Elizabeth Raffald, a pioneer among women entrepreneurs - she had a cooked meat shop, wrote the first-ever street directory and ran an employment agency for servants. This cookery book became a bestseller, and made public the then secret art of confectionary. 232p, 1998. ISBN 1870962133. Hardback. Price US $35.00 (In stock)

William Verrall's Cookery Book. by William Verrall. First published in 1759. One of the most lively and immediate of the 18th-century cookery books. William Verrall's dictation to an amanuensis shows well the life-style of the gentry in an English county town and in the country around. Verrall was a pupil of M de St Clouet, the Duke of Newcastle's cook, and later became a well-known innkeeper renowned for his sophisticated food. 164p, many b/w illus., 1998. ISBN 1870962001. Hardback. Price US $24.95

The Liebig Company's Practical Cookery Book. by Hannah Young. First published in 1894. Baron Justus von Liegig was one of the greatest organic chemists of the nineteenth century. His discovery of the nutritional properties of beef extract had already been in use for invalids when he and four others decided to go into production in Uruguay, using the flesh of cattle that had been killed for their hides alone. He founded his factory at Villa Independencia, later to be called Fray Bentos, and his purpose was very largely philanthropic--to provide in pre-digested form a cheap and nutritious food which could enhance the lives of the growing populations of the world's poor. His beef extract later became Oxo. This work is a charming promotional book for the Liebig Co.'s Extract of Beef, complete with period advertisements. Brief introduction by Ann Bagnall. 120p, num drawings, 1998. ISBN 1870962168. Hardback. Price US $22.95 (In stock)