Isabella Beeton

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IB was the author of the classic book of household management which became a standard reference work for generations following her death—probably, says critic Michael Mason , less common only than the Bible, Shakespeare and the poems of Scott in better-off homes.
Mason, Michael. “A Little Pickle for the Husband”. London Review of Books, pp. 33 - 6.
33
It has been in print continuously since its appearance. IB was a prolific journalist on domestic topics and fashion over the course of her brief career, and assisted with the editing of several magazines for women.
Bloom, Abigail Burnham, editor. Nineteenth-Century British Women Writers. Greenwood Press, 2000.
21
Black and white photograph of Isabella Beeton, standing with her head turned towards the camera, and one hand resting on an ornate chair. She is wearing a black dress with a voluminous skirt and a long, dark beaded necklace.

Milestones

12 March 1836
Isabella Mayson, later IB , was born in London, the eldest of a family which initially consisted of four.
Freeman, Sarah. Isabella and Sam: The Story of Mrs Beeton. Coward, McCann and Geoghegan, 1977.
30
Bloom, Abigail Burnham, editor. Nineteenth-Century British Women Writers. Greenwood Press, 2000.
20
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray, Brian Harrison, and Lawrence Goldman, editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
By July 1857
Shortly after beginning to write columns on the subject, IB began planning a cookery book and requested recipes from friends and readers of the Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine.
Freeman, Sarah. Isabella and Sam: The Story of Mrs Beeton. Coward, McCann and Geoghegan, 1977.
137, 145
Late September 1859
The first of 24 parts of The Book of Household Management, by the young IB , appeared.
Bloom, Abigail Burnham, editor. Nineteenth-Century British Women Writers. Greenwood Press, 2000.
20-1
British Library Catalogue.
1 October 1861
IB 's The Book of Household Management was published in volume form by her husband ; it became a fixture in British kitchens.
Bloom, Abigail Burnham, editor. Nineteenth-Century British Women Writers. Greenwood Press, 2000.
21
Freeman, Sarah. Isabella and Sam: The Story of Mrs Beeton. Coward, McCann and Geoghegan, 1977.
161-2
6 February 1865
IB died a week after the birth of her last son. The cause was apparently puerperal fever, though it has also been suggested that she had contracted syphilis from her husband.
Freeman, Sarah. Isabella and Sam: The Story of Mrs Beeton. Coward, McCann and Geoghegan, 1977.
233-4
Spain, Nancy. The Beeton Story. Ward, Lock, 1956.
174
Hughes, Kathryn. The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs. Beeton. Knopf, 2005.

Biography

Birth and Family

12 March 1836
Isabella Mayson, later IB , was born in London, the eldest of a family which initially consisted of four.
Freeman, Sarah. Isabella and Sam: The Story of Mrs Beeton. Coward, McCann and Geoghegan, 1977.
30
Bloom, Abigail Burnham, editor. Nineteenth-Century British Women Writers. Greenwood Press, 2000.
20
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray, Brian Harrison, and Lawrence Goldman, editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

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