The preface of Wilhelmina Rawson's Queensland Cookery and Poultry Book (1878), published in Australia, observes that: "Mrs. Lance Rawson's Cookery Book... is written entirely for the Colonies, and for the middle classes, and for those people who cannot afford to buy a Mrs. Beeton or a Warne, but who can afford the three shillings for this." [43] [44]

a b Bryson, Bill (2011). At home: a short history of private life (1st Anchor Booksed.). New York: Anchor Books. ISBN 978-0-7679-1939-5. Beeton's half-sister, Lucy Smiles, was later asked about her memories of the book's development. She recalled:Broomfield, Andrea (Summer 2008). "Rushing Dinner to the Table: The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine and Industrialization's Effects on Middle-Class Food and Cooking, 1852–1860". Victorian Periodicals Review. 41 (2): 101–23. doi: 10.1353/vpr.0.0032. JSTOR 20084239. S2CID 161900658.

Many of the recipes were copied from the most successful cookery books of the day, including Eliza Acton's Modern Cookery for Private Families (first published in 1845), Elizabeth Raffald's The Experienced English Housekeeper (originally published in 1769), Marie-Antoine Carême's Le Pâtissier royal Parisien (1815), Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1747), Maria Eliza Rundell's A New System of Domestic Cookery (1806), and the works of Charles Elmé Francatelli (1805–1876). This practice of Mrs. Beeton's has in modern times repeatedly been described as plagiarism. Carpenter, Julie (17 November 2011). "Mrs Beeton's recipe of shame". The Daily Express . Retrieved 1 March 2016. The tomato's) flavour stimulates the appetite and is almost universally approved. The Tomato is a wholesome fruit, and digests easily.... it has been found to contain a particular acid, a volatile oil, a brown, very fragrant extracto-resinous matter, a vegeto-mineral matter, muco-saccharine, some salts, and, in all probability, an alkaloid. The whole plant has a disagreeable odour, and its juice, subjected to the action of the fire, emits a vapour so powerful as to cause vertigo and vomiting. Barnes, Julian (5 April 2003). "Mrs Beeton to the rescue". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015 . Retrieved 1 March 2016. The book thus advocates early rising, cleanliness, frugality, good temper, and the wisdom of interviewing servants rather than relying on written references. [23]The food writer and chef Gerard Baker tested and revised 220 of Beeton's recipes, and published the result as Mrs. Beeton: How To Cook (2011). [48] a b "Mrs Beeton (1836–1865)". BBC. 2014. Archived from the original on 3 January 2021 . Retrieved 15 May 2018.