A Gift for Young Hostesses, or A Means to Reduce Household Expenses

The first edition of this amazing book appeared before readers in 1861. And it began… “One of the most read books of the 19th century,” “a culinary bible,” “a culinary bestseller” — all these descriptions refer to the work of Smolny graduate Elena Molokhovets, who seemed to know everything about exemplary household management and economy. By the way, only until the revolution did the author’s book go through more than 30 editions with a total print run of about 500,000 copies, and what can be said about Evgeny Zamyatin’s observation that “in emigration — the two most popular authors: first place is Elena Molokhovets, second place is Pushkin.”
This book is not only a manual containing over four thousand various culinary tips, recipes, and secrets that allows one to become an amazing hostess, but it is also an encyclopedia of life in the 19th century. Molokhovets reads like a novel about a complex interesting lifestyle and a novel about a lost past.