Martha Harvey Brotherton[1] (bornMartha Harvey; bapt. 1782 – 25 January 1861) was an English cookbook writer best known as the author ofVegetable Cookery (1812), the earliest known vegetarian cookbook. A committed member of theBible Christian Church inSalford, she promoted the church's principles of meat-free and alcohol-free living through her writing. Her book, published anonymously and later issued in several expanded editions, has been recognised as a foundational text in the history of vegetarianism. She was also involved in the early activities of theVegetarian Society, attending its first annual meeting. She was married toJoseph Brotherton, a minister in the Bible Christian Church and Salford's firstMember of Parliament.
On 12 March 1805, she marriedJoseph Brotherton (1783–1857) at Whittington Anglican Church, Derbyshire. The couple initially resided inManchester before moving toSalford, where her husband inherited his father's cotton mill, became a minister of theBible Christian Church, and eventually Salford's firstMember of Parliament. The couple had four children, includingHelen.[3]
Brotherton played a significant role in the Bible Christian Church, both as a minister's wife,[3] and as the author of the firstvegetarian cookbook,Vegetable Cookery, in 1812.[8] The book was originally published anonymously[9] and was republished several times throughout the 19th-century.[10]
Historians have observed that Brotherton's book guided early 19th-century Americans in adopting vegetarianism.[11] Kathryn Gleadle notes that the book was crucial to the movement, forming the basis for later vegetarian cookbooks.[12]
^Sources vary regarding Brotherton's birth year, listing it as 1781,[2] 1783,[3][4] or 1784.[5] TheOxford Dictionary of Biography gives the year of her baptism as 1782 and her parents as Joseph and Martha Harvey (née Brotherton).[6] This identification of her mother as Martha is supported by her Weaste Cemetery Heritage Trail biography.[3] However, baptismal records from Whittington, Derbyshire for the years 1781 to 1784 list only one Martha Brotherton, who was baptised on 24 June 1782, with her parents listed as Joseph and Hannah Harvey.[7]
