author

Anne Cobbett

1795–1877

An American-born British writer and publisher, she is best remembered for practical books that brought household management within reach of ordinary readers. Her work blends clear instruction with the plainspoken, useful tone often associated with the Cobbett family.

1 Audiobook

The English Housekeeper: Or, Manual of Domestic Management Containing advice on the conduct of household affairs and practical instructions concerning the store-room, the pantry, the larder, the kitchen, the cellar, the dairy; the whole being intended for the use of young ladies who undertake the superintendence of their own housekeeping

The English Housekeeper: Or, Manual of Domestic Management Containing advice on the conduct of household affairs and practical instructions concerning the store-room, the pantry, the larder, the kitchen, the cellar, the dairy; the whole being intended for the use of young ladies who undertake the superintendence of their own housekeeping

by Anne Cobbett

About the author

Born in Philadelphia on 11 July 1795, she was the eldest surviving child of the journalist and reformer William Cobbett and Anne Reid. The family later settled in Botley in Hampshire, and as a young woman she even spent time with her father in Newgate Prison while he was imprisoned for treasonous libel.

She became known as an author and publisher, with The English Housekeeper: Or, Manual of Domestic Management standing out as her best-known book. Written for young women taking charge of their own households, it offered practical advice on cooking, servants, brewing, gardening, and everyday domestic life.

Anne Cobbett died on 22 October 1877. Though she is less famous than her father, her writing remains a vivid window into 19th-century domestic life and the kind of practical knowledge readers once relied on every day.