Marion Harris Neil

Marion Harris Neil Godkin (March 13, 1867 – November 4, 1920) was a Scottish writer and editor, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was editor of Table Talk magazine, cookery editor at Ladies' Home Journal and The Delineator, and author of several cookbooks.

Early life and education

Neil was born in Calton, Glasgow, the daughter of James Neil and Jane Harris Miller Neil. She studied at the West End Training School of Cookery in Glasgow. She moved to the United States with her widowed mother and younger sister in 1903.

Career

Neil taught cookery in Scotland and was principal of a cooking school in Philadelphia, with her sister Mary Miller Neil as her assistant. In 1905, she was vice-president of the American Household Economics Association. She was editor of Table Talk magazine. Neil, Christine Terhune Herrick and Caroline French Benton were co-editors of the cookery section of The Delineator in 1908, and she was cookery editor of Ladies' Home Journal. In her last year, she ran Greenacres Inn and Tearoom in Oradell, New Jersey.

Books

Neil compiled and edited cookbooks, often based on the recipes first published in Ladies' Home Journal or other publications. She also created cookbooks for food companies, to teach consumers how to use specific ingredients, such as baking powder, California peaches, or Crisco.

How to Cook in Casserole Dishes (1912)

Candies and bonbons and how to make them (1913)

Canning, preserving, and pickling (1914)

A Calendar of Dinners (1914)

The Story of Crisco (1914)

The Something-Different Dish (1915)