Hideous Absinthe: A History of the Devil in a Bottle - Softcover

Adams, Jad

3.69

88 ratings by Goodreads

9781845116842: Hideous Absinthe: A History of the Devil in a Bottle

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1845116844 ISBN 13: 9781845116842

Publisher: Barbara Ward & Associates, 2007

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

Mysteriously sophisticated, darkly alluring, almost Satanic: absinthe was the drink of choice for Baudelaire, Verlaine and Wilde. It inspired paintings by Degas and Manet, van Gogh and Picasso. It was blamed for conditions ranging from sterility to madness, to French defeats in World War I. The campaign against 'the devil in a bottle' resulted in its ban throughout most of Europe. "Hideous Absinthe" is a biography of the 'green fairy' that questions the basis of anti-absinthe hysteria and describes how absinthe came to symbolise the high points of art and the depths of degeneration. It comes up-to-date via the thrill-seeking American absinthe drinkers in the twentieth century, from Hemingway to the backpackers of Prague; and covers the rediscovery of absinthe in England's club culture of the twenty-first century.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

"Adams offers rich historical context, cultural perspective, anecdotes and pointed observations" "This book is as titillating as it is sobering." - New York Times "Adams, who has previously written a terrific biography of the little known decadent poet Ernest Dowson, is clearly the man for the job. He has a real feel for the period and there is a wealth of detail and insight here... These days I satisfy my interest (in absinthe) by reading about it, and I'm therefore grateful for this essential contribution to the growing literature of the green fairy." -Tom Hodgkinson, The Guardian "In this entertaining history, Jad Adams traces the emerald drink's astonishing popularity in post-Bonaparte France... A diligent social historian, Adams has conducted much excellent research in Pontarlier." -Ian Thomson, The Observer "Jad Adams is himself an extraordinary polymath... His research has been omnivorous and meticulous... Jad Adams has assimilated all this material...historical, medical, social, cultural - and melded it into a most beguiling book... he is the master of a classically lucid style enlivened by dashes of the colloquial and by entertaining detail... he gives marvellously evocative thumbnail sketches... salted with funny anecdotes... a model of how to convey the exhilaration of an exciting subject without getting all melodramatic... In reading it I almost experienced the hallucinations..." -Bevis Hillier, The Spectator "...this is a well-researched, often poignant, and always fascinating biography of a subject whose history, rather like the liqueur itself when added to seven parts water, has often been clouded and opaque." -Stephen Wood, The Lancet "Jad Adams has written a fascinating tale... the green devil, or fairy, has not lost its steely grip." -Illtyd Harrington, Camden Journal 'A splendidly detailed exploration of the subject' Ben Macintyre, The Times A Potpourri of Herb Books, November 1 2004. 'Beautifully illustrated with posters and paintings, this engrossing book is herbal history at its best.' -Connie Krochmal.

About the Author:

Jad Adams is a writer and television producer whose last book Madder Music, Stronger Wine: The Life of Ernest Dowson, Poet and Decadent (I.B.Tauris), received resounding critical praise in Britain and the US. He has also written biographies of Tony Benn and of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. He lives in London and on the Greek island of Leros.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.