The Queen's Closet: A 17th Century Recipe Collection

The QUEENS CLOSET OPENED: Incomparable Secrets in Physick, Chyrugery, Preserving and Candying, &c. Which were presented unto the QUEEN By the most Experienced Persons of the Times. .' [London, Christ. Eccleston, 1662]. bound together with 'A QUEENS DELIGHT: or, THE ART of Preserving, Conserving, and Candying. As also A right Knowledge of making PERFUMES, and Distilling the most Excelleny Waters. [R.Wood, 1662] And, 'The COMPLETE COOK: Expertly prescribing the most ready wayes, whether Italian, Spanish or French For dressing the Flesh, and Fish, ordering of sauces, or making of PASTRY.' [Nath. Brooke, 1662] and with 14 pages of book advertisements at the back. Small, contemporary leather binding. When the book first appeared, in 1655, King Charles had been dead for six years, England was being ruled as a Commonwealth under Cromwell and the widowed Henrietta Maria was living in exile in France. During the 24 years of her marriage Henrietta Maria was never popular with the English ? she was too French, too Catholic and believed to exert too much power over her husband. The hope was that by associating her with traditional female preoccupations and accrediting many of the recipes to well-known English aristocrats, The Queen's Closet would help to recast her image. Written by 'W.M.', known to contemporaries as Henrietta Maria's personal secretary Walter Montagu, The Queen's Closet was part of a new trend for domestic cookery books. Before the 17th century these were luxury items, aimed primarily at professional cooks, but increased literacy, improved printing and an expanding merchant and landowning class created a new market for housekeeping advice. The book's three sections deal with medical remedies, confectionery and general household cookery. There are recipes for improving beauty, curing sickness and helping with childbirth.