Best known for her culinary and domestic guides and the award-winning short story Mrs. Washington Potts, Eliza Leslie deserves a much more prominent place in contemporary literary discussions of the nineteenth century. Her writing, known for its overtly moralistic and didactic tones though often presented with wit and humor also provides contemporary readers with a nuanced perspective for understanding the diversity among American women in Leslie s time.
Leslie s writing serves as a commentary on gender ideals and consumerism; presents complicated constructions of racial, national, and...