1. Maria Rundell asked for, and expected, no payment or royalties.
22 Facts About Maria Rundell
1. 2.
Maria Rundell advises readers on being economical with their food and avoiding waste.
3.
In 1819 Maria Rundell asked Murray to stop publishing Domestic Cookery, as she was increasingly unhappy with the way the work had declined with each subsequent edition.
4.
Maria Rundell wanted to issue a new edition with a new publisher.
5.
Maria Rundell wrote a second book, Letters Addressed to Two Absent Daughters, published in 1814.
6.
Maria Rundell died in December 1828 while visiting Lausanne, Switzerland.
7.
Maria Rundell moved to Swansea, South Wales, possibly to live with a married daughter, and sent two of her daughters to London, where they lived with their aunt and uncle.
8.
The document Maria Rundell gave Murray was nearly ready for publication; he added a title page, the frontispiece and an index, and had the collection edited.
9.
Maria Rundell registered it at Stationer's Hall as his property, and the first edition of A New System of Domestic Cookery was published in December 1805.
10.
Maria Rundell wanted no payment for the book, as in some social circles the receipt of royalties was thought improper, and the first edition contained a note from the publishers that read:.
11.
Maria Rundell replied to his letter, saying "I never had the smallest idea of any return for what really was a free gift to one whom I had long regarded as my friend".
12.
In 1814 Maria Rundell published her second book, Letters Addressed to Two Absent Daughters.
13.
Maria Rundell wrote to Murray in 1814 to complain that he was neglecting Domestic Cookery, which impinged on the book's sales.
14.
Maria Rundell's conceit passes everything; but she again desires the reviews to be sent to her, she shall have them with a little truth in a moderate dose of remonstrance from me.
15.
Maria Rundell obtained an injunction to ensure he was unable to continue selling the book.
16.
Murray counter-sued Maria Rundell to ensure she did not publish the book.
17.
Maria Rundell spent much of her widowhood travelling, staying for periods with family and close friends, as well as abroad.
18.
Maria Rundell advises readers on being economical with their food, and avoiding waste.
19.
Maria Rundell included detailed instructions on techniques to ensure the best results.
20.
Maria Rundell's work was plagiarised by at least five other publishers.
21.
Domestic Cookery was heavily plagiarised in America, with Maria Rundell's recipes being reproduced in Mary Randolph's 1824 work The Virginia House-Wife and Elizabeth Ellicott Lea's A Quaker Woman's Cookbook.
22.
Maria Rundell has been admired by several modern cooks and food writers.