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The Ex-Classics Web Site Book of the Month -- March 2025 Mrs. Cromwell's Kitchen The Court and Kitchen of Elizabeth, Commonly Called Joan Cromwell, the Wife of the Late Usurper was published in London in 1665, a few years after the death of Oliver Cromwell. The author is unknown, but was certainly not Mrs. Elizabeth Cromwell. It is a genuine cookery book but in addition there is a great deal of anti-Cromwellian abuse along with the recipes. The recipes themselves are not the expensive and elaborate dishes which might be expected to grace the table of a head of state, but plain solid cooking, such as would be served in the household of a prosperous farmer or merchant. The implication of this, of course, is that the Cromwells did not keep the state appropriate to their position; various anecdotes emphasise her penny-pinching attitude. Previous BOMs AboutUs The Ex-Classics project was founded in 2000 to fill an unmet need.  When reading the blurb etc. to a book by Charles Dickens or Charlotte Bronte, say, we would often come across sentences like "Favourite reading included . . ."  If  it's good enough for them, it's good enough for us. So off we go to the library or bookshop, to be met first with blank stares and then with the information that the book has been out of print for decades. Our first two books were Gil Blas and Hudibras, which are prime examples of this. This web site is dedicated to rescuing these works from obscurity and making them available online, both for reading directly, and for downloading. What do you think? Any comments about this site or its contents? E-mail us (Click here) We have an occasional newsletter - please say if you want to be added to the mailing list. We never give out your details to spammers, or anyone else, for that matter. No-Copyright notice This site and its contents are public domain and free to the world. Anything in it may be copied and distributed free of charge or obligation. [There are one or two exceptions to this,which are clearly marked where they occur.] We expect this policy to be passed on - anyone who copies our texts or web pages and tries to claim copyright for themselves is stealing - not from us, but from you, and from everyone. An example of what we mean.

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