Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management

Definition

Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management is an instruction manual for maintaining a middle-class Victorian home. The book provides guidance directed to women about legal memoranda, real estate, recipes for various dishes, natural histories of animals, stabling horses, and suggestions for at-home healthcare. A compilation of many texts from numerous contributors, this book was Isabella Beeton’s publishing success. Readers often assume this book was written by a middle-aged housewife; however, Beeton was barely into her 20s and had been married for a short 6 months when she began compiling this classic household management guide. Mrs. Beeton inspired readers to view women as commanders of armies charged with managing a family, meal preparation, and household budgets at a time when the middle classes were becoming more urbanized and affluent.

Introduction

Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management, published in volume form in 1861, originated in 1859 as a series of monthly...