Craze: Gin and Debauchery in an Age of Reason

'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).' 'Due to its popularity among the lower English classes, gin became synonymous with squalor. And as back-alley gin-shops doubled as meeting places for thieves, gin also became associated with debauchery and criminality. Parliament in 1736 passed the 'most notorious' of a series of Gin Acts, which ended in failure. Gin consumption increased; moreover the law created a working class atmosphere of 'open contempt for the law and its agents.' 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