Advisory Suggestions in Lady Catherine Fitzgerald’s Recipe Book (1703)

Abstract

This study examines Lady Catherine Fitzgerald’s eighteenth-century recipe book to explore the linguistic and pragmatic features of advisory suggestions in women’s culinary writing. In line with Alonso-Almeida’s (2025) work on stance and politeness in historical directives, the analysis shows that recipe books function not only as instructional guides but also as spaces where authority, expertise, and social decorum are negotiated. Advisory suggestions appear selectively rather than systematically, signalling deliberate communicative choices. When present, they typically offer optional guidance that balances directive force with politeness. Linguistic forms such as if you please and you may reveal how female authors strategically combine deference with epistemic authority. Functionally, advisory suggestions enhance the writer’s expertise, invite reader agency, and reinforce contemporary norms of politeness. These findings confirm that eighteenth-century women’s recipe books are culturally meaningful artefacts in which subtle forms of linguistic authority are exercised.