Magdalena Dobromila Rettigová
Encyclopedia
Magdalena Dobromila Rettigová (January 31, 1785, Všeradice
Všeradice
Všeradice is a village and municipality in Beroun District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. -References:*This article was initially translated from the Czech Wikipedia....

 - August 5, 1845, Litomyšl
Litomyšl
Litomyšl is a town and municipality in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. The chateau complex in the town centre is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.-History:...

) was Czech writer known for her famous cookery book.

Rettigová, née Artmann, was born in German speaking family. Her childhood was not happy and her father died in 1792. In 1808 she got married to Jan Alois Sudiprav Rettig, Czech patriot from half-German speaking family. Under his influence she learned to speak and write correctly in Czech language
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...

 and also started to use middle name Dobromila. Rettigová was active in Czech National Revival
Czech National Revival
Czech National Revival was a cultural movement, which took part in the Czech lands during the 18th and 19th century. The purpose of this movement was to revive Czech language, culture and national identity...

 movement, also helped to found an educational institute for girls (her main advice for the girls was to keep their husband happy no matter what). Of her 11 children only three survived into adult age.

Her early literary were mostly syrupy and sentimental texts. In 1826 Rettigová published her legendary recipe book called A Household Cookery Book or A Treatise on Meat and Fasting Dishes for Bohemian and Moravian Lasses (Domácí kuchařka aneb Pojednání o masitých a postních pokrmech pro dcerky české a moravské). This book became a 19th century bestseller and for a long time remained the only cookery book written in Czech. Rettigová continued to improve the book with culinary experiments.

The cookbook is well known until today though most of its recipes, high on fat and carbohydrates, don't fit with modern lifestyle. The book is still being reprinted and a copy can be found in libraries of many Czech households.
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