Mary Hooper

Born in Leamington Spa and baptized on November 24, 1829, she built a varied writing career in Victorian England. She is remembered especially for her cookbooks, though she also wrote novels and books for children.

Early in her career, she worked on the household section of Household Words, the magazine edited by Charles Dickens. Later, she taught cookery at the Crystal Palace School of Arts, Science and Literature, where she became a professor of domestic economy.

Her published works include practical titles such as Handbook for the Breakfast Table, Little Dinners, Cookery for Invalids, and Good Plain Cookery, alongside fiction and children's books like Wives and Housewives and Lily's Letters from the Farm. She died in South Norwood, London, on January 8, 1904.