Marion Cabell Tyree ( Lynchburg, Virginia) was the author of the influential cookbook ''Housekeeping in Old Virginia'' (1877). A granddaughter of
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first a ...
, she compiled the recipes in her cookbook with the help of "two hundred and fifty of Virginia's noted housewives".
Civil War legacy
Modern scholars of the culture of the
Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
after the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
have identified the rhetorical techniques used by Tyree to establish credibility for her book and its heritage. For instance, she lists the names of all those who contributed recipes; "they establish a pedigree for the book". Tyree explicitly staged the book as "a response to changes wrought on upper-class white households"; these recipes and household tips, she says, will help the "elegant and refined women" who may find themselves without a cook.