Mapping Interpersonal Meaning in Hannah Woolley’s Recipes and Manuals (1670-1672)

Abstract

This article analyses interpersonal markers in Hannah Woolley’s The Queen-like Closet (1670) and The Ladies Directory (1672), two of the earliest domestic manuals authored by an Englishwoman. Drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistics and Appraisal theory, it examines mood, modality, polarity, pronouns, conditionals, and graduation, combining quantitative frequencies with close exemplification. Results show that both works are grounded in imperatives, though Woolley tempers categorical directives with let-frames, permission modals, and hedges. Strong obligation markers (must, shall) dominate in 1670, while the later text shifts toward advisory forms (you may) and politeness hedges (if you please). Predictive will often functions as a promissory device, assuring readers of efficacy. The pervasive you casts the reader as active agent, while authorial I surfaces chiefly in evidential claims. These strategies reveal Woolley’s negotiation of female authority in print, where interpersonal resources both assert expertise and foster solidarity.