First published in 1888, The Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook sought to provide practical advice to young memsahibs in India, 'giving the duties of mistress and servants, the general management of the house and practical recipes for cooking in all its branches'. Ostensibly a manual of household management, it opens a fascinating window on to the day-to-day life of the British in India. Brisk, capable, humorous, highly opinionated and frequently ironic, the voice that emerges commands the reader's attention; Steel and Gardiner's mission to uphold British standards in Indian kitchens has illuminating parallels with the running of the British Empire, and their domestic guide reveals as much about British attitudes to India as any history book on the Raj. They explain how to 'make a hold' over servants, how to establish and stock a storeroom, how to plan a menu, manage young children, treat bites from 'mad, or even doubtful dogs', and teach an Indian cook how to make fish quenelles. Whether living in camps or in the jungle, on the hills or in the plains, no British woman would be at a loss with The Complete Indian Housekeeper by her side. The Mrs Beeton of British India, Steel and Gardiner's classic work was hugely popular and many times reprinted. This new edition illuminates the fascinating details of imperial household economics as seen through the eyes of these two curious, intelligent, and widely travelled women.
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Their mission, to create a domestic space that was forever Wiltshire, throws a bright light on the larger project of which they were a part, that of running the British Empire. (Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian)
Steel and Gardiner aimed to do what Mrs Beeton had done for their stay-at-home sisters. (Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian)
Fascinating, immensely detailed... A priceless insight into the mindset and even character of those women out there. (Martin Rubin, Washington Times)
What these women did was to create an authentically unique subculture of their own on that vast, sometimes hostile, subcontinent. (Martin Rubin, Washington Times)
The cream of the crop of the recent historical [cookery] reprints. (Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian)
Steel and Gardiner aimed to do what Mrs Beeton had done for their stay-at-home sisters. (Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian)
Fascinating, immensely detailed... A priceless insight into the mindset and even character of those women out there. (Martin Rubin, Washington Times)
What these women did was to create an authentically unique subculture of their own on that vast, sometimes hostile, subcontinent. (Martin Rubin, Washington Times)
The cream of the crop of the recent historical [cookery] reprints. (Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian)
About the Author
Ralph Crane is Professor of English at the University of Tasmania.
Anna Johnston is Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Tasmania.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Peasant
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
The "housekeeper" part of the title is to the fore in this work, which aims to teach the "memsahib" everything she needs to know about running a household in British India. Political correctness has no place in these pages. The first section deals with setting up a home, and has hugely detailed info on what is needed and what it will cost in the various different regions of India. However, even here we find the true obsession of the authors - the Staff. The edition in front of me (1893) predates the "servant problem" in the UK, but in British India it seems servants were a perpetual subject of anxiety, largely because of the cultural gap between employer and employed.
The authors do not betray as much obvious chauvinism as one would expect, for their day. They realise things may all come as a bit of a shock to the young wife fresh out from England and they are concerned to get their lady readers to understand how things work in India, and how to get the best from their employees. "It is a mistake" they opine "to be constantly on the worry" and to this end, they suggest ways of acheiving mutual understanding and respect, and a smooth-running establishment, as well as a firm but fair system of discipline!
The housewife's duties do not stop at the kitchen door; directions are given for running stables, laundry, cows and dairy, poultry, dogs and gardening. There are hints on camp life, and more hints to "missionaries and others in camp and jungles". There are hints for "on the hills" and "in the plains", a Table of Wages and Hints on Outfits.... Read more ›
The authors do not betray as much obvious chauvinism as one would expect, for their day. They realise things may all come as a bit of a shock to the young wife fresh out from England and they are concerned to get their lady readers to understand how things work in India, and how to get the best from their employees. "It is a mistake" they opine "to be constantly on the worry" and to this end, they suggest ways of acheiving mutual understanding and respect, and a smooth-running establishment, as well as a firm but fair system of discipline!
The housewife's duties do not stop at the kitchen door; directions are given for running stables, laundry, cows and dairy, poultry, dogs and gardening. There are hints on camp life, and more hints to "missionaries and others in camp and jungles". There are hints for "on the hills" and "in the plains", a Table of Wages and Hints on Outfits.... Read more ›
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have seen references to this book in much of my reading re the British Raj in India. It is a must for those who seek an accurate insight into domestic life at that time.A fascinating, educational and enjoyable read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By G. Moore
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The thing that I did not expect is the humour. Comments like "Do not forget the essentials such as husband, children, furniture". One of my favourites is the comment on sculptured butter pats - "it is doubtless gratifying to observe such yearning after beauty, even in butter, but it is suggestive of too much handling to be pleasant". Informative and very amusing.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Have not gone that far in the book but I am hooked. great read!! very interested in this subject as I come from what was once a British colony, so same as India. I am also a trainer in Etiquette which involves organising your home and household and entertaining which the book discusses albeit from a now historical point of view.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By I. Darren
Format:Hardcover
This is an old, classic book that was a must have "Bible" in its day for young British women who were embarking upon married life in India as it gave a host of practical advice for how to "run house" in 1880s British-India.
So why publish it again over 120 years later? Well apart from being an historical curiosity about how things were done "way back then" it still can impart some practical hints and tips that can be equally valid, perhaps with adaptation, in these more modern times. Society has changed, of course, in the intervening years and this book should not be seen as somehow celebrating the "good old days" but one should equally not rewrite history and just learn from the past and live for the present and future.
The reader is thought to be inexperienced and thus she, as it would be a she who is the target reader, is "instructed" in all matters of managing the house and assigning duties to maids and servants as required. One does not receive gentle encouragement or suggestion but one is effectively instructed on how things are done and how they should be done.
Before one is transported back to Victorian British-India, one receives some context through a long introduction to the authors and life in general as well as a chance to familiarise matters through a comprehensive chronology of events in British-Indian society from around the time the book was originally published. Explanatory notes also provide enhanced context to references that at the time would have ordinarily needed no explanation.
It is fair to say that much of this book would have equally been found in a contemporary general guide for a young woman setting up house for the first time, however it has been specifically written and expanded upon for the differences of expatriate life at the time.... Read more ›
So why publish it again over 120 years later? Well apart from being an historical curiosity about how things were done "way back then" it still can impart some practical hints and tips that can be equally valid, perhaps with adaptation, in these more modern times. Society has changed, of course, in the intervening years and this book should not be seen as somehow celebrating the "good old days" but one should equally not rewrite history and just learn from the past and live for the present and future.
The reader is thought to be inexperienced and thus she, as it would be a she who is the target reader, is "instructed" in all matters of managing the house and assigning duties to maids and servants as required. One does not receive gentle encouragement or suggestion but one is effectively instructed on how things are done and how they should be done.
Before one is transported back to Victorian British-India, one receives some context through a long introduction to the authors and life in general as well as a chance to familiarise matters through a comprehensive chronology of events in British-Indian society from around the time the book was originally published. Explanatory notes also provide enhanced context to references that at the time would have ordinarily needed no explanation.
It is fair to say that much of this book would have equally been found in a contemporary general guide for a young woman setting up house for the first time, however it has been specifically written and expanded upon for the differences of expatriate life at the time.... Read more ›
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By J.R.
Format:Hardcover
Anyone who thinks this is a book about curries is going to be disappointed.
It's all about life in India in between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th .
Lot's of advice on all kinds of matters concerning housekeeping, most advice is still useful today.
How to treat livestock and how to deal with hired help.
Included are 80 pages of recipes, four pages are about 'native' dishes.
Very interesting reading!
It's all about life in India in between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th .
Lot's of advice on all kinds of matters concerning housekeeping, most advice is still useful today.
How to treat livestock and how to deal with hired help.
Included are 80 pages of recipes, four pages are about 'native' dishes.
Very interesting reading!
By M. D. Souter
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Captures a real period of colonial history and so is therefore full of quite extraordinary tips. Really great to flick through and put down after a few pages. Recommended.
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