Selections from Eliza Leslie

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Selections from Eliza Leslie

Eliza Leslie
Edited and with an introduction by Etta M. Madden

Legacies of Nineteenth-Century American Women Writers Series

368 pages
1 illustration

Paperback

December 2011

978-0-8032-3295-2

$40.00 Add to Cart
eBook (PDF)
Ebook purchases delivered via Leaf e-Reader

December 2011

978-0-8032-3809-1

$40.00 Add to Cart

About the Book

Best known for her culinary and domestic guides and the award-winning short story “Mrs. Washington Potts,” Eliza Leslie deserves a much more prominent place in contemporary literary discussions of the nineteenth century. Her writing, known for its overtly moralistic and didactic tones—though often presented with wit and humor—also provides contemporary readers with a nuanced perspective for understanding the diversity among American women in Leslie’s time.

Leslie’s writing serves as a commentary on gender ideals and consumerism; presents complicated constructions of racial, national, and class-based identities; and critiques literary genres such as the Gothic romance and the love letter. These criticisms are exposed through the juxtaposition of her fiction and nonfiction instructive texts, which range from lessons on literary conduct to needlework; from recipes for American and French culinary dishes to travel sketches; from songs to educational games. Demonstrating the complexity of choices available to women at the time, this volume enables readers to see how Leslie’s rhetoric and audience awareness facilitated her ability to appeal to a broad swath of the nineteenth-century reading public.

Author Bio

Eliza Leslie (1787–1858) wrote in several genres and published books of juvenile fiction as well as several books on domesticity, which include Directions for Cookery, one of the most popular nineteenth-century American cookbooks. Etta M. Madden is a professor of English at Missouri State University. She is the coeditor, with Martha Finch, of Eating in Eden: Food and American Utopias (Nebraska 2006) and the author of Bodies of Life: Shaker Literature and Literacies.

Praise

"[Madden] has brought together a solid collection of Leslie's work, creating a volume that will be of special interest to feminist historians and students of early-19th-century American literature."—Choice

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Editor's Introduction

A Note on the Text

<A>Fiction</A>

[01] The Travelling Tin-Man

[02] Mrs. Washington Potts

[03] The Settlers

[04] Eliza Farnham, or The Love Letters

[05] Mr. and Mrs. Woodbridge: A Story of Domestic Life

[06] Nothing Morally Wrong

<A>Nonfiction</A>

[07] Seventy-Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats: An Excerpt

Black Cake, or Plum Cake

Spunge Cake

Almond Cake

French Almond Cake

Maccaroons

[08] Domestic French Cookery: An Excerpt

Preface

Miscellaneous Receipts

[09] American Girl's Book, or Occupation for Play Hours: Excerpts from Part III, "Amusing Work--Pincushions"

A Strawberry

A Basket Pincushion

A Bunch of Hearts

[10] The Elephant

[11] The Ladies' Guide to True Politeness and Perfect Manners, or Miss Leslie's Behavior Book: An Excerpt \

Letters

Conduct to Literary Women

Notes

Chronology of Eliza Leslie's Published Works

Selected Bibliography

 

Acknowledgments

Editor's Introduction

A Note on the Text

<A>Fiction</A>

[01] The Travelling Tin-Man

[02] Mrs. Washington Potts

[03] The Settlers

[04] Eliza Farnham, or The Love Letters

[05] Mr. and Mrs. Woodbridge: A Story of Domestic Life

[06] Nothing Morally Wrong

<A>Nonfiction</A>

[07] Seventy-Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats: An Excerpt

Black Cake, or Plum Cake

Spunge Cake

Almond Cake

French Almond Cake

Maccaroons

[08] Domestic French Cookery: An Excerpt

Preface

Miscellaneous Receipts

[09] American Girl's Book, or Occupation for Play Hours: Excerpts from Part III, "Amusing Work--Pincushions"

A Strawberry

A Basket Pincushion

A Bunch of Hearts

[10] The Elephant

[11] The Ladies' Guide to True Politeness and Perfect Manners, or Miss Leslie's Behavior Book: An Excerpt \

Letters

Conduct to Literary Women

Notes

Chronology of Eliza Leslie's Published Works

Selected Bibliography

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