books like "cookery for maids of all work" and "comfort for small incomes" offered advice on the management of modest middle-class homes. warren began to write on these household subjects in the 1850s. sometimes her work was presented as the "autobiographical" story of a fictional character, even when clearly labelled on the title page as "by mrs. warren": for instance, "how i managed my children from infancy to marriage". like "how i managed on £200 a year", this book used the character of an experienced housekeeper to give advice to a novice: a dialogue format used in evangelical literature of the period.