Antonia Isola

Antonia Isola (born May 16, 1876 in New York), is the pseudonym of Mabel Earl McGinnis. She was the daughter of John McGinnis and Lydia Olivia Matteson, and wife of Norvell Richardson.

She wrote Simple Italian Cookery, published by Harper & Brothers, February 1912. It was the first Italian cookbook to be published in the US. She had lived in Rome for some years and was well-versed in Italian food, but the publishers chose the pseudonym to impart "authenticity" to the work.

There is no evidence that she published any other work or that the pseudonym was used for any other work.

References

• Simple Italian Cookery, by Antonia Isola. Harper & Brothers 1912; Reprinted by Applewood Books for The Culinary Trust in 2005, introduction by Robert Brower, ISBN 1-55709-573-6

External links

• Simple Italian Cookery at The University of Adelaide Library
• Works by Mabel Earl McGinnis at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Antonia Isola in libraries (WorldCat catalog) (single book)