What a fascinating story! Before reading this book, I wasn't aware it was a real life story. I haven't heard of Eliza before, so I think it was even more interesting to find out the Modern Cookery recipe book was an actual book.

The story is told in two parts - each chapter details either Eliza or Ann's view of what is happening in the story. Eliza is a spinster poetress - she is trying to get her book of poems published, only the publisher tells her there isn't a need for poetry at the time, but she should write a cookery book. Ann is from a poor family, her mother is in a lunatic asylum and her father is a drunkard. The reverend from her church helps her obtain a position in the kitchen of a boardinghouse, ran by Eliza's family. Eliza soon enlists Ann's help in trying out recipes for the book. It was sweet to watch their friendship bloom as they worked together.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

This is a very different book than what I thought it was requesting and it took me quite a long time to read. Miss Eliza's English Kitchen deals with Eliza Acton, the groundbreaking cookbook writer, from the perspective of historical fiction. While I was expecting a work focused primarily on food and creation, it ended up being a book far more about relationships--particularly Eliza's relationship with her servant, Ann (who was responsible for many of Eliza's accomplishments. There is an unpleasant aspect to this book that I can't quite put my finger on. It reads true to its time, but to a fault. I couldn't come away liking Eliza and that, to me, was a problem in a book of this type.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this ARC.

I’m not typically a historical fiction reader. I usually find the writing plodding and tiring. Not so with this book! I thought the writing was beautiful.

Big fan of the alternating chapters where you get the “upstairs” perspective and the “downstairs” perspective. I felt it gave the book a bit more depth. I also came to care/root for both characters and was invested in their stories.

All in all, for me, this was an enjoyable and quick read. I finally found a historical fiction book I could finish!

This was an interesting story. I really enjoyed reading about the experimentation with recipes and the creation of the cookbook. I had expected more of that. I thought this book would celebrate the joy of food and cooking, but the amount of parental drama gave the book an overall serious tone.

Also, I can't agree that this is a book about friendship. While Miss Eliza may have treated Ann better than most people treated their servants, I didn't feel she treated Ann as a friend. At times she selfishly used Ann, and she never confided in her.

Overall, this was an interesting read, just not what I was expecting.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Book Club Girls for the early read.

This was a charming book and it was interesting to understand more about the expected roles for women at that time. I liked how Eliza’s backstory was slowly filled in but though the ending epilogue for Ann crammed in a lot. Perhaps that is just the nature of telling a specific story as historical fiction.

Miss Eliza’s English Kitchen is the story of spinster Eliza Acton’s decision to pursue writing an English cook book, after her publisher suggests this when he turns down her poetry works. This has a profound effect on the relationships in her life – primarily that of Ann, her plain cook. There’s a clear class distinction between Eliza and Ann, though Eliza’s family has lost their home and standing due to her father’s gambling debts. Ann is from a poor family and is recommended as a servant when Eliza and her mother move nearby to run a boarding house. The story is told from both Eliza and Ann’s perspectives as different things occur that run the risk of their project – to create an English cookbook – being seen through to completion. While both characters are interesting, Eliza’s class standing and the dismissive way it leads her to treat Ann is frustrating, especially when she considers herself understanding and knowledgeable about lower classes. Similarly, Ann’s naivety at the way the world works can be painful to read at times. Both are also keeping family secrets from each other that are a driving force between Eliza’s project and Ann’s employment. Eliza’s mother, however, takes the unlikable cake with her actions towards her daughter for her unconventional lifestyle and her expectation that Eliza get them out of a situation that her husband (and Eliza’s father) caused. When the story focuses on the food the women are preparing, or discussing with others, the book truly shines and draws the reader in. The characters are probably very historically accurate for their time, but can certainly be challenging to like. This book is perfect for readers who like women’s fiction and historical fiction, particularly stories that are a little more unique.

Abbs’ vividly evoked novel is based on the life and work of Eliza Acton, the woman who produced one of Britain’s first cookbooks designed for the middle-class household, developed the ingredients list that’s now included in every recipe), and published the first English language recipe for spaghetti. Abbs offers wonderful glimpses of London in the early Victorian period and the constraints faced by Victorian women. The novel is rich with timeless elements as well, exploring as it does the gifts as well as tensions of female friendship among other themes. Even as a dedicated non-cook, I loved this warm, insightful narrative.

Thanks to NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Eliza Acton is a pioneer in cooking writing. Her cookbooks, from Victorian era England, were much like Julia child of her day. The cookbooks were widely published as a way to bring English cookery to the more common home. Little is know about the woman, but Abbs takes what is known and builds this historical fiction around her life and the writing of the now famous cookbooks. Working with an assistant, of whom little is known at all, Eliza works through the concepts, the recipes, and execution with a nod to her poetry style.
The book was interesting with heavy leanings on women’s lives in Victorian England, their expectations to become wives and mothers and to not pursue manly jobs. This book was very much about Ann and Eliza following their respective dreams regardless of what their parents or neighbors expected of them.
I yearned for recipes to glance over. They are discussed, but how wonderful to see her recipes in print, it would have been! Luckily I found that the library’s Hoopla account has her book! I spend too much time flipping though the pages or her cookbook or through Wikipedia to find out more.
It’s sad we don’t really know more about Eliza because the novel might have been more intriguing. But suffice it to say that this novel is pleasant and sheds light on a character we would never have known otherwise.
3.5*

What a wonderful book! I was thoroughly immersed in the time period. I felt as though I was right in the kitchen with Eliza and Ann. I could practically taste each recipe that they worked on.

Eliza Acton wrote what is considered to be the first modern English cookbook, and this novel imagines the circumstances of the process of writing the book. Eliza Acton was originally a poet and the novel opens with her visit to the British publisher, Longman's, hoping to sell a new book of verse. Her poetry is rejected but the publisher suggests she write a cookery book instead. At first she scoffs, but the idea has captured her attention and she begins to experiment with foods, herbs, and spices.

The chapters alternate between Eliza and her kitchen maid Ann Kirby, and each develops a recipe and advances the plot as we learn Eliza's closely guarded secrets and the story of Ann's desperately poor family. The descriptions of the food are beautiful and border on poetry and contrast sharply with the struggles in the women's lives.

I thoroughly enjoyed this highly original novel. Eliza Acton's cookbook remains a strong influence on modern chefs and has returned to print 150 years after its original publication.

I was so excited to get approved for this ARC. A time period that I enjoy (Victorian) with a story that centers on women breaking boundaries and finding meaning? Sign me up!

The story is told through two perspectives, Eliza, born into a wealthy family who then loses it all and Anne, born into poverty with an alcoholic father and a Mother who has succumbed to dementia at an early age. The two meet when Eliza and her mother open a boardinghouse where Ann comes to work.

Eliza is a natural writer, she has written and published poetry, but when she visits an editor looking for an advance on her next poetry book, she is informed that no one wants to read poetry written by a woman, and that she needs to write either gothic romance or a cookbook. As expected, Eliza is distraught until she realizes that she finds cooking and creating recipes soothing and enjoyable. She finds that she can combine her poetic style and her desire for the recipes to appeal to the average English housewife to be the challenge she was seeking. She is told by her mother that an unmarried woman can not be seen cooking, that should only be done by a hired cook. Eliza, however, is a spitfire and does exactly as she wants. She is consistently bucking up against tradition and her mother to try to forge her own path. The fact that the book is based upon the real Eliza Acton makes the story that much more amazing.

Ann has spent the past several years literally tethered to her mother by a rope so that her mentally unstable mother won't embarrass the parish and the minister. Her father only cares about drinking, has lost a leg and can't keep a job. Ann is finally convinced by the minister to let her mother be taken to an asylum which can take care of her and work in a home to make some money for her family. She is told to tell no one about her mother since mental illness is looked upon so terribly. She has such low self esteem as she enters Eliza's world, but quickly blooms under Eliza's tutelage..

Eliza and Ann grow to create a strong friendship. Ann enjoys cooking just as much as Eliza and the two go about perfecting recipes that they serve to boarders and will add to the cookbook. Eliza has the chance to finally be separated from the constricting reach of her mother through marriage. She also has the chance to mend her estranged relationship with her oldest sister. There are many other aspects to this story, but I don't want to give too much information and spoil the surprises.

This story had me captivated until the very end. I thought the book was leading me to one conclusion, yet it curved at the last moment. And then it felt like the ending was rushed and so many pieces were left dangling. I like a book that doesn't have a clean and perfect ending, but this one felt like there were just too many unresolved circumstances. This was a 5 star read until the last 25 pages which was a total bummer. I read that this is being turned into a TV series and I'm sure it will be a popular one. The setting and the premise are total wins.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advance copy to read and review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. The Victorian era is quite likely my favorite era to read about, so I instantly was drawn to this based on the description alone. Other authors have painted an overly rosy, "pull them up by their bootstraps, sheer will" portrait of life in a Victorian kitchen, but that really isn't the case. An employee could be made or broken based on the work they did at something as critical as potato peeling. This book-no pun intended-peels back the curtain and shows the amount of work, time, effort and life that made a Victorian kitchen operate. This story is incredible! I've been familiar with Mrs. Beeton (and you had to have a "Mrs." before your name even if you weren't married!) but this was a new lens to look through. A dedicated woman determined to forge her own path, Eliza is a wonderful character. Determined to save her family and make something impactful, she enlists the help (and ultimately friendship) of Ann. This was a wonderful read, and I'm hesitant to write too much for fear of giving anything away. Well written, crafted and plotted, this is a book to be enjoyed and savored.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

An absolute perfect storm of a book for me - as a hoarder of old cookbooks, my vintage Mrs. Beeton's has a treasured place on my shelf, so this novel ticked all the boxes for me. Now if only I could track down a copy of Eliza's *real* book!

This book was a period piece on a technically interesting topic but was ultimately not to my taste. There seemed to be a decent balance of research and imagination involved but I found the period language irritating and slow to wade through. Historical fiction lovers should like this one but food lovers/cooks might find it hard going. Personally, I was hoping for more fact and much less fiction; I tried to keep going but it ultimately was a DNF.

Interesting book for the most part although I wish the ending were a little more exciting. Fascinating to think of the things we take for granted today and how different they were then, even mundane things like recipes and not just women's rights.

An absolutely exquisite book. I enjoyed every word and eagerly turned the page for more. I had never heard of Eliza Acton before but now feel I have been in the kitchen with her.

This is a wonderful book, filled with interesting characters and a vibrant setting/time. MISS ELIZA’S ENGLISH KITCHEN is a peek into a time when most women of a certain class never set foot in their own kitchens. Nor were women considered capable of good cooking; it was a preserve populated entirely by men. Author Annabel Abbs has taken a famous cookbook and a few known facts about the author and spun a great tale. The protagonist confronts all manner of social obstacles to become a food writer and published author. Her journey is entertaining and lively and the book itself is thoroughly engrossing. I read it straight through and enjoyed every minute. I received my copy from the publishers through NetGalley.

A spinster, in search of both a creative outlet and an occupation, teams up with a young kitchen maid to wind up creating the most popular cookbook of the nineteenth century. Told in alternating chapters by both Eliza Leslie and Ann, the kitchen maid, Miss Eliza's English kitchen shows the disparity in the lives of the poor and the upper classes in England at the time, and paints a vivid picture of how poorly the people of England were eating. A fascinating look at culinary history and society in Victorian England.

No matter that Eliza Acton wished to be known as a poet, her knowledge in the kitchen out weighs her poetry. While copying recipes she found in an old house she started to realize she liked to cook and was pretty darn good at it. Her method of writing recipes so the average cook could understand them was perhaps one of he greatest contribution to the art of cooking. . She standardized method of making many dishes which are still made today. She wrote a cookbook before anyone reallyu knew what a cookbook was..