Craze Gin and Debauchery in an Age of Reason
2 journalers for this copy...
Review: I enjoyed this book mostly for the history. Lots to think about in how we view social and economic class and drug use both in the past, and today.
Background: I bought this book at a charity event in Burlington, Ontario.
Book Overview: In 1720, a new drink emerged as the overwhelming drug of choice among London's working poor; it was both affordable and many times stronger than traditional spirits. The beverage was gin, and the craze it initiated would become the 18th-century's equivalent of our crack cocaine epidemic. Craze is the first popular illustrated history to focus exclusively on the gin craze. Warner looks at the impact of "mother gin" from personal, political, and sexual perspectives. She draws on hundreds of primary sources, from Defoe to Dr. Johnson, guiding us through squalid back rooms, streets thronged with hawkers, raging mobs, and the halls of Parliament. The result is a timely, irreverent, utterly engrossing look at a city and a drug — and a drug scare — that helped shape our contemporary views of pleasure, consumption, and public morality.
Background: I bought this book at a charity event in Burlington, Ontario.
Book Overview: In 1720, a new drink emerged as the overwhelming drug of choice among London's working poor; it was both affordable and many times stronger than traditional spirits. The beverage was gin, and the craze it initiated would become the 18th-century's equivalent of our crack cocaine epidemic. Craze is the first popular illustrated history to focus exclusively on the gin craze. Warner looks at the impact of "mother gin" from personal, political, and sexual perspectives. She draws on hundreds of primary sources, from Defoe to Dr. Johnson, guiding us through squalid back rooms, streets thronged with hawkers, raging mobs, and the halls of Parliament. The result is a timely, irreverent, utterly engrossing look at a city and a drug — and a drug scare — that helped shape our contemporary views of pleasure, consumption, and public morality.
Journal Entry 2 by LFLHunter at Peach Coffee on Guelph Line in Burlington, Ontario Canada on Saturday, September 7, 2024
Released 3 wks ago (9/7/2024 UTC) at Peach Coffee on Guelph Line in Burlington, Ontario Canada
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Taking this book to a Bookcrossing meetup at Peach Coffee Guelph Line location. Books not taken by other Bookcrossers will be taken to Little Free Libraries.
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From the Slingsby Gin brand website: [In the 18th century] "the gin obsession was blamed for misery, rising crime, madness, higher death rates and falling birth rates. Gin joints allowed women to drink alongside men for the first time and it is thought this led many women neglecting their children and turning to prostitution, hence gin becoming known as 'Mother's Ruin'. " I do remember that expression from old William Hogarth prints. He was very astute at illustrating life for the working classes and the very poor in England in the 1700's. I do enjoy books about history, and this one looks like an engaging read.
