First Catch Your Hare: The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1747)

This is a facsimile of the first edition (slightly reduced in format). The text of this version and supporting material is unchanged from the one we published in 1995. There is no more famous Georgian cookery book than Hannah Glasse - most often recalled by the instruction ‘First catch your hare…’ (which, of course, she never wrote herself). It is important in all sorts of ways: it was written by an independent woman (her husband at any rate was something of a loser); it was composed with an uninstructed servant-class in mind; it exemplifies the battle between English and French influences in the kitchen; it contains some important recipes (not least, the first in English for curry). This facsimile is provided with a biographical introduction, an extensive glossary of cookery terms, and two essays on the sources of Hannah Glasse’s recipes. Glasse was reprinted countless times through the 18th century and her book was quickly republished in America. The life story of the author herself is also of great interest: she was a relatively uneducated, illegitimate daughter of a Northumbrian gentleman, who left home early for a not-very-successful suitor, who set herself up in business in the fashion industry with great aplomb (even if bankruptcy was the final episode) and who wrote and sold her books with an eye to a useful income. This edition, in various guises, has been kept in print by Prospect since 1983. It commands a ready market among those interested in food history and historical cookery.