The Art of Cookery
by Hannah Glasse
Hannah Glasse was born in 1708 as the illegitmate daughter of Isaac Allgood, a landowner in Northumberland, England.[1] [2] Allgood raised Glasse with the rest of his family, giving her a chance to enjoy the lavish lifestyle and food of country landowners.[3] Hannah married soldier John Glasse when she was 16, and the Glasses served in an earl's household in Essex for several years before moving to London.[4]
Unfortunately, John was a free spender, leaving Hannah with little money in London.[5] Hannah began work on The art of cookery, made plain and easy in 1746 to help her finances, but also to write a cookbook for the rapidly-growing British middle class.[6] Hannah Glasse distinguished her cookbook from previous publications with recipes containing easy-to-read-and-follow instructions, and with methods of weighing and measuring ingredients that did not require readers to purchase expensive equipment.[7] The recipes could be created in a basic middle-class kitchen. Most other cookbooks available were written for professional chefs and contained elaborate dishes designed for a mansion's or restaurant's cooking facilities.[8] The Art of Cookery's first edition was published in 1747.[9] Sadly, John died before the second edition came out later the same year.[10] Hannah's book became a great success, going through 20 editions in the 18th century and published continuously through 1843.[11] Glasse's book was highly influential throughout its published life, and some modern British food writers call Glasse "the first domestic goddess"[12] and "the mother of the modern dinner party".[13]
The Art of Cookery's success brought Glasse financial success for a while, but it would not last. On May 27, 1754, she was declared bankrupt, and on October 29 of that year, Glasse had to sell her copyright in the book to bookseller Andrew Miller and his partners.[14] Glasse was discharged from bankruptcy on January 11, 1755[15], but she fell into further financial trouble and on June 22, 1757, she was sent to debtor's prison, then released later that year.[16] Glasse wrote two subsequent books, The Servants Directory in 1757 and The Compleat Confectioner in 1760, but neither work was nearly as successful as Glasse's first.[17] Hannah Glasse died on September 1, 1770, at age 62.[18]
The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy … by a Lady was certainly a success, but before the second edition appeared in 1747 John Glasse died, and was buried on 21 June 1747 at St Mary's Church, Broomfield. Earlier in the year Hannah and her daughter Margaret had opened a costumier's shop in Tavistock Street, a smart shopping area, where she attracted custom from the princess of Wales. Bubb Dodington's Journal recorded a visit in December 1749 with the prince and princess of Wales and their retinue to view a display of Hannah's costumes interspersed by conjurors and other entertainments, while the coaches of the aristocracy at her door suggested that business was flourishing. Behind this expensive façade, however, Hannah was borrowing money in quantities far in excess of her ability to repay. On 27 May 1754 a docquet of bankruptcy was granted against Hannah for debts of over £10,000. The commissioners of bankruptcy did not auction her stock as it was held in Margaret Glasse's name, but on 29 October 1754 the copyright of The Art of Cookery and the printed sheets of the fifth edition were sold to Andrew Miller and his conger (a partnership of booksellers), who were to be responsible for the Art for the next fifty years. The London Gazette of 17 December 1754 stated that Mrs Glasse would be issued with a certificate of conformity on 11 January 1755; that is, she was discharged from bankruptcy. [19]
Bibliographic Information
Author: Hannah Glasse
Title: The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy : Which Far Exceeds any Thing of the Kind Ever Yet Published
Publication Info: London: Printed for the author, and sold at Mrs. Ashburn's, a china shop ..., 1747.
Edition:
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy
Bound in later half calf with calf corners and marbled boards. Purchased from Charles Agvent.
References
- ↑ Laura Boyle, "Hannah Glasse", Jane Austen.co.uk, last modified October 13, 2011. [1]
- ↑ Rose Prince, "Hannah Glasse: The original domestic goddess", The Independent (UK), June 24, 2006, accessed July 10, 2013. [2]
- ↑ Prince.
- ↑ Boyle.
- ↑ Prince.
- ↑ Prince.
- ↑ Prince.
- ↑ Prince.
- ↑ Boyle.
- ↑ A. H. T. Robb-Smith, ‘Glasse , Hannah (bap. 1708, d. 1770)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 27 June 2013
- ↑ Boyle.
- ↑ "Hannah Glasse: The First Domestic Goddess", BBC Four, accessed July 10, 2013. [3]
- ↑ Boyle.
- ↑ Robb-Smith.
- ↑ Robb-Smith.
- ↑ Boyle.
- ↑ Boyle.
- ↑ Boyle.
- ↑ A. H. T. Robb-Smith, ‘Glasse , Hannah (bap. 1708, d. 1770)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 27 June 2013
