The Compleat Housewife
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The Compleat Housewife contained not only 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, but also directions for painting rooms, removing mildew, and home remedies for treating ailments, such as smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
.
The Compleat Housewife was published in the United States for the first time in 1742, by William Parks, a Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
, printer. He printed and sold the cookbook, believing that there was a strong market for it with Virginia housewives who wished to be current with the London fashion. Parks was the founder of the Maryland Gazette
The Capital
The Capital is a daily newspaper published in Annapolis, Maryland. It serves the city as well as all of Anne Arundel County and neighboring Kent Island in Queen Anne's County. It is an evening newspaper during the week and offers morning delivery on the weekend. Philip Merrill was the publisher...
(now known as The Capital), and published a number of minor books and pamphlets before printing The Compleat Housewife, which became his major book publication. The book that was published in America was the fifth London edition, which was a best seller of the time.
During the 18th century, British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
books including The Compleat Housewife were reprinted in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Philadelphia. When The Compleat Housewife was printed in 1742, Parks made an attempt to have the cookbook altered to American "taste", deleting certain recipes, "the ingredients or materials for which are not to be had in this country."
When Eliza Smith wrote The Compleat Housewife, she showed "her self-assurance to attack English attitudes toward food and women cooks." In the book's preface
Preface
A preface is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a foreword and precedes an author's preface...
, Smith chides the male culinary writers of her time. She claimed that they concealed their best recipes from the public.
The Compleat Housewife title page describes the book as a
An original 15th edition of The Compleat Housewife from 1753 is held by Chawton House Library in Hampshire, UK. The library has recently published a new hardback edition of the book.