I'll be the first to admit that in all the times I've perused Mrs Beeton's I've never been given to more than a passing curiosity about the author herself. When I saw this title, my interest was piqued and given the opportunity to read this before publication, I did and am glad to have done so, as I probably otherwise never learned about Ms Raffald.

The book states that Elizabeth Raffald married an unreliable husband, but after giving birth to 15 or 16 daughters over the course of 18 years, I suppose that there was at least one thing her husband wass reliable about. This sounds terrible to me - a woman who achieved such levels of success only to be dragged into the poorhouse with more than a dozen mouths to feed by a real bellend of a husband - it's atrocious, and I'm so glad that divorce and birth control are available and understood(ish) - we all still have much farther to go.

Though amazingly impressive, I was left feeling so badly for this woman and also impressed with all that she achieved, while also being pregnant probably every damn year or so, breastfeeding, parenting more than a dozen children. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Reading about her - you don’t often see such drive anymore.

I love Mrs Beeton's book, finding such joy in reading through it for the past many years and I'm glad that I was able to learn about her and her life in this one. I found it well researched, written without dryness, and very interesting. An absolutely worthy read for those more interested in learning about the woman behind Mrs. Beeton.

I had never heard of Elizabeth Raffald before and this was a great way of introducing her to the audience. I enjoyed how well Neil Buttery wrote this and how well this was researched. I enjoyed going on this history and am glad I got to read this.

"No, Elizabeth was of different stock – she was a housekeeper and an excellent one at that. She wrote entirely by experience, everything gleaned from her diverse knowledge and the copious written notes and recipes she must have kept with her, both in the shop and in domestic service. ‘Her earnest enthusiasm is all-compelling;'"