Elegant Economist
Eliza Acton (1799-1860) was born in Sussex, and, apart from some time spent in France, lived for much of her life at Bordyke House in Tonbridge, where she kept house for her mother. Modern Cookery, first published in 1845, was her first cookery book and quickly gained wide acclaim for its practical, step-by-step approach. Delia Smith has called Acton 'the best writer of recipes in the English language'.