Martha Stewart Is Not Quite The Homemaking Maven We Think She Is…

Martha Stewart Publishes Entertaining in 1979

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By the late ’70s, Stewart’s husband had a successful career in book publishing and he hired Martha to cater one of his company parties. There, she met Alan Mirkin, then the head of Crown Publishing Group, who was impressed by Martha’s cooking and savvy homemaking. They talked about developing a cookbook and in 1979, Stewart was given a $25,000 advance from Crown Publishing. The result was Martha’s first cookbook, Entertaining, written with the help of freelancer Elizabeth Hawes. The book came out in 1982 and instantly became a best-seller, containing recipes and decorating guides that featured her Turkey Hill home.

How did she go from owning a catering business to becoming a household name? Keep reading to see what moves Martha made!