THE COOK AND HOUSEWIFE'S MANUAL : A PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF MODERN DOMESTIC COOKERY AND FAMILY MANAGEMENT BY MISTRESS MARGARET DODS

Mrs. Margaret Dods [Christian Isobel Johnston], 1781-1857 THE COOK AND HOUSEWIFE'S MANUAL : A PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF MODERN DOMESTIC COOKERY AND FAMILY MANAGEMENT BY MISTRESS MARGARET DODS. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, c1878. Thirteenth edition. 8vo (18x11cm), 624 pp. Original publisher's quarter leather binding. Gilt tooled and decorated spine with red cloth boards. Foxing is mainly present to the first few and last few pages and only persists in a minor way to the odd few pages in the middle of the textblock by the fore-edge. There is chipping to the head and tail of the spine, and wear to the front and rear boards. There are minor tears to the end papers, and on the ffep there is an owner's inscription dates 1878. The copy is fair and would make an excellent reading copy as the binding is still quite firm. Unlike previous authors who wrote in daunting, dry paragraphs, Christian Isobel Johnstone wrote the book in the persona of Meg Dods - the eccentric, sharp-tongued landlady from Sir Walter Scott’s popular 1823 novel 'St Ronan's Well'. The book forms a satirical shot at the male French elitists in cooking, and is considered an important feminist work but also one of the finest Victorian publications on Scottish cuisine (amongst the French and other British cuisine also included). If you have any questions please feel free to ask.