author
Leona A. (Leona Alford) Malek
1878–1951
A lively early 20th-century home economist and journalist, she turned household advice into accessible books, newspaper columns, and radio programs. Writing under names including Prudence Penny and Jean Prescott Adams, she helped bring cooking and domestic guidance to a broad popular audience.
1 Audiobook
The Business of Being a Housewife A Manual to Promote Household Efficiency and Economy
by Leona A. (Leona Alford) Malek
About the author
Born in Illinois in 1878, Leona Alford Malek built a career as a writer, editor, and home economist in Chicago. She is especially remembered for practical books such as The Business of Being a Housewife and for her work on cooking and homemaking topics that aimed to make everyday life more efficient and manageable.
Malek also wrote and presented under pen names, including Jean Prescott Adams, and was one of the women associated with the widely known Prudence Penny byline. Her work reached readers through newspapers and, later, radio, giving her advice a broad audience beyond the printed page.
Alongside her publishing career, she was active in professional journalism circles and served as president of the Illinois Woman’s Press Association. She died on March 20, 1951, leaving behind a body of work that captures the practical, instructional spirit of American domestic writing in the early 1900s.