Susannah Carter ( fl. 1765?) was the author of an early household management and

cookery book A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cours ...

, ''The Frugal Housewife, or, Complete woman cook''. Little more is known than that Carter was from

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redisco ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

as stated in the title page of the first edition. Her book was first published around 1765 in

by Francis Newbery, who was based in a printing enclave around

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

. He was the nephew of

John Newbery John Newbery (9 July 1713 – 22 December 1767), considered "The Father of Children's Literature", was an English publisher of books who first made children's literature a sustainable and profitable part of the literary market. He also supported ...

, after whom the

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

for children's books was named. The book was also published in 1765 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and was first reprinted in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

in 1772 by

Benjamin Edes Benjamin Edes (October 15, 1732 – December 11, 1803) was an early American printer, publisher, newspaper journalist and a revolutionary advocate before and during the American Revolution. He is best known, along with John Gill, as the publishe ...

and

John Gill John Gill may refer to: Sports *John Gill (cricketer) (1854–1888), New Zealand cricketer *John Gill (coach) (1898–1997), American football coach *John Gill (footballer, born 1903), English professional footballer *John Gill (American football) ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, illustrated with prints made by

Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to ale ...

. The book strongly influenced the first cookery book by an American author,

Amelia Simmons Amelia Simmons is an American writer noted for publishing the '' American Cookery''. This cookbook is considered an important text that provided insights into the language and culinary practices of former colonists, helping shape American identit ...

's ''

American Cookery ''American Cookery'', by Amelia Simmons, is the first known cookbook written by an American, published in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1796. Until then, the cookbooks printed and used in the Thirteen Colonies were British. Its full title is: '' ...

'' (1796), in parts almost identical content. An appendix was added to the 1803 American edition, supplementing "receipts" ecipes"adapted to the American mode of cooking", such as Indian puddings,

buckwheat Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum''), or common buckwheat, is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as '' Fago ...

cakes,

pumpkin pie Pumpkin pie is a dessert pie with a spiced, pumpkin-based custard filling. The pumpkin and pumpkin pie are both a symbol of harvest time, and pumpkin pie is generally eaten during the fall and early winter. In the United States and Canada it is u ...

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...

, and maple beer. The appendix may have been translated from a Swedish book, ''Rural Oeconomy'': an identical appendix appears in an 1805 edition of

Hannah Glasse Hannah Glasse (; March 1708 – 1 September 1770) was an English cookery writer of the 18th century. Her first cookery book, ''The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy'', published in 1747, became the best-selling recipe book that century. It w ...

's ''

The Art of Cookery ''The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy'' is a cookbook by Hannah Glasse (1708–1770) first published in 1747. It was a bestseller for a century after its first publication, dominating the English-speaking market and making Glasse one of the ...

'' (originally published in 1747). Confusingly, a completely different book with the same title was written by Lydia Maria (Francis) Child; its popularity may be reason why it remained in print from 1829 to 1855. Child's ''The Frugal Housewife'' was also published in London and Glasgow from 1832 to 1834. In 1832 to avoid the confusion, Child changed her title to ''The American Frugal Housewife''. She wrote of the usefulness of Carter's book for Americans: "It was the intention of the author of the ''American'' Frugal Housewife, to have given an Appendix from the ''English'' Frugal Housewife; but upon examination, she found the book so little fitted to the wants of this country, that she has been able to extract but little."

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External links

An 1802 title page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Susannah English food writers Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown

References

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External links