Cole, Mrs Mary

Cole, Mrs Mary (fl. 1788–91) author of The Lady’s Complete Guide; or Cookery in All its Branches (1st edn 1788, 3rd edn 1791), chiefly remarkable for the stand she took on plagiarism. She was the first cookery writer to cite in a systematic way the other books from which most of her recipes were drawn. Even in those numerous instances where she had collated into a single version, which she could have called her own, the recipes of several earlier writers, she took pains to acknowledge them. In her preface she claimed credit for this innovation and castigated earlier writers, among whom she names hannah glasse, for dishonesty. ‘If all the writers upon Cookery had acknowledged from whence they took their Receipts, as I do, they would have acted with more candour by the public. Their vanity to pass for Authors, instead of Compilers, has not added to their reputation.’