Manuscript Location

Library of Congress, Rare Book/Special Collections Reading Room (Jefferson LJ239)

Place of Origin

England

Date of Composition

presumed 1738-ca. 1750s

Description

This recipe book is signed by Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (1660-1744), who is  its principal author, although the book also contains extensive additions by other individuals. Sarah Churchill and her husband, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, had seven children, five of whom lived into adulthood and married into various great families of England. Sarah Churchill is known to history as a close friend and advisor to Queen Anne. The duchess promoted Anne's interests during the reigns of William III and Mary II, and after Anne came to the throne, in 1702, the duchess became one the most influential members of Anne's court. The duchess fell out of Anne's graces in 1711, a few years before the queen's death, but the duchess remained active in politics while also engaging in the construction of Blenheim Palace, begun in 1705 and completed sometime in the 1730s. At her death, at age 84, she was one of the wealthiest women in England.

Sarah Churchill divided her recipe book into five sections: Made dishes, Puddings and pyys, Pickels, Preserves, and Surgiry. The book contains approximately 164 pages of written text, with many blank leaves between the sections.