The Gentlewomans Companion (1675) or, A Guide to the Female Sex

Hannah Woolley is generally acknowledged to be the first woman to earn an income from writing and publishing cookery and medical-remedy books which makes her one of England's first female professional writers. However, reflecting publishing practices of her day, her output is confusing and disputed. She certainly published under her own name and recipes from her earlier works are included in the Companion. Indeed, a supposed "likeness" of her was used on the frontispiece when first published in 1673, but the book turns out to have been the first of three unauthorized publications where her name was exploited for legitimation and marketing purposes.

Regardless of authorship, The Companion is an important example of 17th-century English advice literature which advocated for the improved education of women as well as being a fascinating case study in publishing history. As a cookery book it includes recipes from her earlier (authentically by Woolley) books and there is no dispute that her authentic and inauthentic publications were popular, frequently reprinted and translated, in the case of The Queen-Like Closet, into German.

This is an unabridged edition of the second edition in a new setting (not a facsimile) with an introduction by cultural theorist and historian, Caterina Albano.