The American Frugal Housewife by Lydia Maria Child, published in 1828, is a nuts-and-bolts how-to manual for home management. Crammed full of recipes, helpful hints, stain-removal techniques, parenting advice, herbal remedies, cures, and essays on the virtues of thriftiness, this slim volume became the housekeeping bible for legions of nineteenth-century wives. I myself have relied … Continue reading This Is Going to be Fun