It would be easy to think of Mrs. Beeton, with her massive compendium of recipes and remedies for literally every household problem as an elderly, wise woman. Yet she was only 29 when she died. She began by writing a recipe column for a magazine published by her husband, Samuel. There were a few recipe books at the time, but none that a young lady setting forth on matrimony could refer to for solutions to the day-to-day problems of running a household. In 1859 the Beetons launched a series of 48-page monthly supplements to The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine; the 24 instalments were published in one volume as the now-famous Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management in October 1861, which sold 60,000 copies in the first year. Of the 1,112 pages, over 900 contained recipes. The remainder provided advice on fashion, child care, animal husbandry, poisons, the management of servants, science, religion, first aid and the importance in the use of local and seasonal produce. This biography of Mrs Beeton and her husband Samuel was written by her great-niece, Nancy Spain. A very fascinating read.