COOK

cook, eliza (1818-1889), english author, was born on the 24th of december 1818, in southwark, being the daughter of a local tradesman. she was self-taught, and began when a girl to write poetry for the _weekly dispatch_ and _new monthly_. in 1838 she published _melaia and other poems_, and from 1849 to 1854 conducted a paper for family reading called _eliza cook's journal_. she also published _jottings from my journal_ (1860), and _new echoes_ (1864); and in 1863 she was given a civil list pension of £100 a year. as the author of a single poem, "the old armchair," eliza cook's name was for a generation after 1838 a household word both in england and in america, her kindly domestic sentiment making her a great favourite with the working-class and middle-class public. she died at wimbledon on the 23rd of september 1889.