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 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

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. 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 cont ...

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

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, and was first reprinted in North America in 1772 by Benjamin Edes and John Gill in

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 a ...

. The book strongly influenced the first cookery book by an American author, Amelia Simmons's '' American Cookery'' (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 ''Fagopy ...

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

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