Genre:

Letter, Spoof

Subjects:

Gender, Expertise, Politics, Government, Domestic Economy

    Discussing 'women's intellectual fitness to vote', a subject which the writer urges should not be 'dismissed with shallow levity', she points out that women do not reach positions of high authority in cookery (for example, chefs) and that this is because 'cookery is a scientific art' and 'women do not seem to be capable of the grasp of principles which applied science demands'. Adds that women make 'good cookmaids' but only men make good cooks. Urges the suffragist Lydia E Becker to compel women to 'apply their minds' to cookery and demonstrate their 'claim to the electoral franchise' by producing an excellent dish.