Craze by Jessica Warner
An intimate, irreverent history of the 'gin craze' in eighteenth-century London 'Gin took London by storm in the first half of the 18th century. It 'was the original urban drug,' says Warner in this intriguing slice of social history. 'Cheap, potent, and readily available,' it aided London's poor in escaping the wretchedness of their lives and was considered a public menace by Daniel Defoe and Samuel Johnson. (Hogarth's famous print Gin Lane imagined a nightmarish world destroyed by a demonic drink.) Warner gives us the whole story of gin: where it came from (Holland), who drank it (a large percentage were women), how it was perceived (as a threat to the nation), and how legislative efforts to curb consumption fared (badly).
'She writes like an angel, which makes her as cheerily compelling as a nice G&T at the end of a long, hard day' Daily Telegraph 'A smart, gripping analysis of the gin debate' The Guardian 'Craze is an informative and enjoyable read' Irish Times 'In the book's final chapter, Warner paints an interesting parallel between the "gin craze" and the recent war on drugs' Publishers' Weekly - from the superb early review of the US edition
Jessica Warner is the author of Craze: Gin and Debauchery in an Age of Reason. Born and raised in Washington DC, she is a graduate of Princeton and Yale. She is an assistant professor at Toronto University.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781861976017 |
| ISBN 10 | 1861976011 |
| Title | Craze |
| Author | Jessica Warner |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Profile Books Ltd |
| Year published | 2004-01-29 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |