Reviews

Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management by Isabella Beeton

rosieclaverton's review

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3.0

Good contemporary reference for nineteenth century household management - essential reading for Victorian era fiction, though I recommend skipping over the recipes (i.e. most of the book)

lileuw's review

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3.0

You get tips and tricks about all things in life, from taking care of clothes to making soup. I didn’t really like the book, it wasn’t written very well and most of the things seemed to me, well, common sense. I don’t know what I expected from this book, but most of it just seems lacking. Maybe it’s also because the author doesn’t really know what she’s talking about (she actually never did any of these things she had people who did it for her, she's an interesting lady!)

Merged review:

You get tips and tricks about all things in life, from taking care of clothes to making soup. I didn’t really like the book, it wasn’t written very well and most of the things seemed to me, well, common sense. I don’t know what I expected from this book, but most of it just seems lacking. Maybe it’s also because the author doesn’t really know what she’s talking about (she actually never did any of these things she had people who did it for her, she's an interesting lady!)

themodvictorian's review

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As a historical document - and as an aid in research - this book is invaluable.

faintingviolet's review

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3.0

Full of interesting tidbits about life in the second half of the 19th century.

http://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/2014/03/17/mrs-beetons-book-of-household-management-cbr6-10/

sylvanas's review

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informative medium-paced

5.0

kwalks's review against another edition

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4.0

Provides an excellent snapshot of middle class British households in the mid 1800s. Even the author's misguided opinions and instructions are enlightening. I particularly enjoyed the "General Observations" sections that provide tangential, historic, or seemingly random notes about the chapter. The section on domestic help is interesting too because it provides the duties and expectations of the various types of employees hired to run a household.

gifrancis's review

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The edition I have is from 1907.
Brilliant way to look into the victorian era.
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