150 years ago today, a young Victorian housewife passed away just eight days after giving birth to her fourth child. Given mortality rates in 19th century England, her death might have been just another statistic, but this woman has come to represent all things domestic in the Victorian era. Isabella Mayson would become a household …
Planning your Thanksgiving feast? You might want to get inspiration for dishes from one of your favorite authors. One of Special Collections’ newest acquisitions for the literary collections is Peter Brears’ Cooking and Dining with the Wordsworths (Rowe Collection TX 717 .B7289 2011), which shares recipes and menus used in William Wordsworth’s household. If English …
For modern readers, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol conjures up images of bygone Christmas celebrations, including the Christmas feast prepared by the Cratchit family, complete with goose and steamed pudding. Many current cookbooks provide updated recipes for traditional Victorian Christmas fare, but what sorts of sources would a middle- or working-class cook like Mrs. Cratchit …