Hannah Glasse

Hannah Glasse, born on March first, seventeen oh eight, was a pioneering English cookery writer whose influence on culinary literature remains significant. Raised in London by her father's family after her parents' relationship ended, she eloped at the age of sixteen with a thirty-year-old Irish subaltern. The couple faced financial hardships, which ultimately led Glasse to pen her first book, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, published in seventeen forty-seven. This work quickly became the best-selling recipe book of the century, reprinted within its first year and appearing in twenty editions throughout the eighteenth century.

Glasse's contributions to cookery included not only a wealth of recipes but also notable firsts in English cuisine. Among her original creations were the first known curry recipe, three variations of pilau, an early reference to vanilla, and the first recorded use of jelly in trifle. She also introduced the term 'Yorkshire pudding' in print, showcasing her innovative approach to cooking.

Despite her success, Glasse's life was marked by challenges. After becoming a dressmaker in Covent Garden, where she served clients like Princess Augusta, she fell into debt and was imprisoned for bankruptcy. This financial strain forced her to sell the copyright of her acclaimed book. Much of her later life remains a mystery, with details about her identity only resurfacing in nineteen thirty-eight through historian Madeleine Hope Dodds.

Glasse's work has been subject to plagiarism, with many unauthorized copies circulating, particularly in the United States. Nevertheless, The Art of Cookery has been celebrated by English cooks in the latter half of the twentieth century, influencing culinary figures such as Elizabeth David, Fanny Cradock, and Clarissa Dickson Wright.