Hannah Woolley

1622 — c. 1675

Finding information about Hannah Wolley (also spelled Woolley and Wooley) is surprisingly difficult, for despite being the author of a number of works, and being the first female writer to establish herself as a 'brand', Hannah Wolley's fame led to a number of books that she did not write being attributed to her. The most infamous of these being the The Gentlewoman's Companion; or, a Guide to the Female Sex, 1673 which contains the image of 'Wolley' given here and a brief biography of Wolley. Now, Wolley herself railed against this book, as a result no information given in it can be trusted. Because of this, all information about Hannah Woolley's life has to be derived from other sources.

In a supplement to her Queen-like closet (the supplement being published in 1674), Wolley mentions that she is fifty-two years of age. This would give the year of her birth at 1622. Because all her writings were in her married name, Hannah's maiden name is unknown. The false biography in the Gentlewoman's Companion states that she lost her parents at the age of 14. Whether or not this is true, it does seem that Hannah was orphaned at an early age. What is known is that from 1639 to 1646 Wolley worked as a servant for an 'unnamed woman'. It seems likely that this personage was Anne, Lady Maynard (d. 1647), during which time she learned about medical remedies and recipes. The skills of Physick and Chirurgery as it was said during her time. In 1646, at the age of 24 she married Benjamin Wolley, who was the master of the Newport Grammar School in Essex (this being very close to the Maynard residence). It was here that Wolley first put into practice those skills of 'physick' that she acquired earlier.

It seems that the marriage was a happy one and the couple had four sons and two daughters. However, Benjamin Wolley died in August 1661 and Hannah Wolley publishes her first book, The Ladies Directory, just one month before her husband's death. It is interesting to speculate that Benjamin Wolley suffered an extended illness and that Hannah turned to writing as an alternate means of earning an income. It would also appear, that despite the prejudices of the age, by the time of her husband's death that Wolley had earned a reputation as a successful physician and in part, her books were used to advertise her medical practice.

The precise date of Hannah Wolley's death is unknown, but because a plagiarised work based on her books, called The Accomplish'd Ladies Delight appeared in 1675 and Wolley made no comment about this it is assumed that she died before the book's publication. She made changes to her own Queen-like Closet in 1674. As a result it is assumed she died between 1674 and 1675 and the latter date of 1675 is usually given.

Hannah Wolley's Works:

The Ladies Directory, 1661
The Cooks Guide, 1664
The Queen-Like Closet, 1670 (the title refers to the book The Queens Closet Opened, of 1655 written by 'W.M.' of whom very little is known.)
The Ladies Delight, 1672
A Supplement to the 'Queen-Like Closet', or, A Little of Every Thing, 1674.

The Ladies Directory of 1661 was published at Hannah Wolley's own expense (it was quite quickly reprinted in 1664). Due to the success of the first book, her second volume, The Cooks Guide, was printed at a her publisher's expense and is dedicated to Maynard's daughter, Lady Anne Wroth (1632–1677), and her own daughter Mary.

Wolley is often credited as England's first professional female writer, a title that she quite rightly deserves. She was writing at a time where education for women was becoming more generally available and as a result there was a literate class of women running households who would purchase literature directly aimed at them.

Hannah Wolley's Queen-like Closet

The Queen-like Closet (1670) or Queen-like Closet or Rich Cabinet was Hannah Wolley's third published volume of household management and was effectively an union of her two earlier works. It proved to be very popular and a second edition was published in 1672, followed by a Supplement published in 1674.

The book comprises 344 pages and 288 recipes with sections on bills of fare and household management that presage Mrs Beeton by almost 200 years. The recipes are divided into two parts, representing the two original books from which they were derived.

It's this site's aim to provide the original text of all the Robert May recipes and to provide the modern cook with a current redaction of the recipe. You can also find more recipes from the Stuart period in this site's Stuart recipes page.