The English Roses were acquired by Penguin Group UK. Puffin Books, Penguin's children's imprint, published the books. The joint press release announcing the deal explained that each story book would involve Madonna working with a different illustrator. Madonna confirmed that all profits from sales of the book were to be donated to charity. She partnered with Amazon and recorded an exclusive audio message about the book for Amazon's customers. The message was available from September 3 and was the first opportunity for customers to hear the singer talking about "The English Roses". The book was not available to the press and media in
The English Bread Book considered the book "excellent, and we trust to be popular". Readers of the book, the reviewer thought, will become possessed of a store of useful knowledge, as well as scientific as practical, upon a question which is essentially that of every man, woman and child in the wide universe". In her work, "English Bread and Yeast Cookery", Elizabeth David writes that "The English Bread Book" heavily influenced and informed her work, and she owes Acton a debt for it. The food writer Elizabeth Ray observes that the book was less successful than "Modern Cookery", and was only reprinted in 1990.