A Dark History of Gin looks at the origins and development of a drink which seems to have a universal and timeless appeal. Historian Mike Rendell explores the origins of distilling in the ancient world and considers the how, when, where and why of the ‘happy marriage’ between distilled spirits and berries from the juniper bush. The book traces the link between gin and the Low Countries (Holland and Belgium) and looks at how the drink was brought across to England when the Dutch-born William of Orange became king. From the tragic era of the gin craze in eighteenth-century London, through to the emergence of ‘the cocktail’, the book follows the story of gin across the Atlantic to America and the emergence of the mixologist. It also follows the growth of the Temperance Movement and the origins of the Prohibition, before looking at the period between the First and Second World Wars
the cocktail age. From there the book looks at the emergence in the twentieth century of craft gins across the globe, enabling the drink to enjoy a massive increase in popularity. The book is intended as a light-hearted look-behind-the-scenes at how ‘Mother’s Ruin’ developed into rather more than just a plain old ‘G & T’. AUTHOR: Mike Rendell has written thirteen books, all of them about Georgian England. His interest in the period was inspired by a fascinating cache of papers left by his 18th century ancestors. His other books with Pen & Sword include: In Bed with the Georgians, Trailblazing Women of the Georgian Era, Pirates & Privateers in the 18th Century, Crusoe, Castaways and Shipwrecks in the Perilous Age of Sail, Sex and Sexuality in Georgian Britain, and most recently Georgian Harlots and Whores. When not writing, he spends his time talking on Georgian topics both in Britain and abroad, and in particular on board cruise ships. He travels extensively but his home is in Dorset.
20 b/w illustrations
