Eliza Warren (1810–1900)

Eliza Warren, née Jervis, was born in Wells, in Somerset, England, the eldest of six children of a draper. Her mother was often ill, and Eliza learned to manage household duties at a young age. In 1836, she married Walter Warren, a commercial traveler, and moved to London. She was widowed unexpectedly in 1844, and began publishing needlework manuals. Although she remarried in 1851 to a customs officer, she was widowed again five years later. She supported herself with writing a steady stream of books such as Cookery for Maids of All Work and Comfort for Small Incomes, as well as magazine articles, for the next 20 years and more. She also moved to Surrey and opened a boarding house, and became editor of the Ladies' Treasury, a new monthly magazine. She was best-known professionally by the pen name Mrs. Warren, but was also known as Eliza Francis and Eliza Warren Francis.