The Queen-like Closet, or Rich Cabinet
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Hannah Woolley
R. Lowndes
1672
Hannah Woolley (1622-ca. 1675) was one of the first Englishwomen to make her living as a writer. She trained privately in the medical arts and practiced as a lay physician. Her receipts included a large number of medical remedies as well as culinary recipes. The title of her most well-known book "The Queen-Like Closet," was a metaphor for the value of its contents. Like many books of the 17th century, it had a descriptive subtitle, in this case flattering the reader and emphasizing the extraordinary character of the information within.
The full title of the book was "The Queen-like closet, or rich cabinet: stored with all manner of rare receipts for preserving, candying and cookery, very pleasant and beneficial to all ingenious persons of the female sex."
History of Medicine Collection