Gin: The Much Lamented Death of Madam Geneva [Hardcover]

Patrick Dillon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2002

This book follows gin's introduction, its rise in popularity, the prohibition and the bootleg underground, straight on through to regulation and the big businesses that still dominate the industry today.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This remarkable cultural history of England's 18th-century craze for gin-which first was called Geneva after the Dutch name for the juniper berries used to flavor the drink-is an illuminating trip through many layers of British society, from the heights of king and Parliament to the wasted thieves and whores in London gutters. After King William of Orange encouraged his Parliament in 1690 to pass an act encouraging the distilling of brandy and spirits from corn-a way of attacking France's lucrative brandy exports, as William was also declaring war on that country-it "opened the floodgates to the cheap spirits that were soon being sold in cellars and garrets all over London." Dillon deftly uses his skills as a novelist (Truth; Lies) to bring to life the half-century of debauchery that followed the 1690 acts in London, "where for a penny a dram, the poor man could fill his head with his own dreams; the market-woman could blank out the wet corner she sat on and fancy herself well-dressed, dry and feasting at Vauxhall pleasure gardens." More importantly for the success of this highly detailed and immensely engaging chronicle, Dillon is a superb researcher. Using contemporaneous newspaper accounts of notorious gin-induced crimes, Dillon tracks the ever-increasing rise in gin's popularity through numerous forms of social turmoil to a final acknowledgment "that Madam Geneva was here to stay, whatever ills she brought with her." Throughout, Dillon expertly displays the intricate connections between politics and business, pleasure and morality, public policy and illegal consumption. In an epilogue, Dillon carefully notes the similarities between the gin craze and such American phenomena as Prohibition and the current "war on drugs."
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Dillon's book is a detailed yet highly accessible account of the gin craze that overtook London in the 18th century. The author, a London architect and novelist, neatly illustrates the many manifestations of gin (also called Madam Geneva), from an acceptable drink introduced by William of Orange to a forbidden pleasure fueled by the economic insecurity to a commodity of big business. The landowners and distillers defended its production, as did the poor to whom it offered "comfort and oblivion." Dillon illustrates the arguments made by social reformers, such as the writer Henry Fielding, who abhorred gin and fought for its ban. Various measures were taken to control gin's use, such as paid informers, numerous Gin Acts, and attempts at prohibition, of which Dillon is quite critical. Interestingly, Dillon argues that gin's decline resulted less from legislation or social reform than from the rise of a more stable economy and a growing middle class. The author also compares more contemporary attitudes toward alcohol and drug use. A broader account than Jessica Warner's Craze: Gin and Debauchery in An Age of Reason, this work is recommended for all public libraries.
Isabel Coates, CCRA-Toronto West Tax Office, Mississauga, Ont.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Justin, Charles & Co. (December 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932112006
• ISBN-13: 978-1932112009
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #723,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars There aren't any hints for the perfect martini, July 21, 2003

By 

John Coniff (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gin: The Much Lamented Death of Madam Geneva (Hardcover)

Patrick Dillon's account of the Gin Craze of the 18th century is an informative, well-written, and lively account of the social problems surrounding the introduction of high-octane spirits into English society. He provides enough names-and-dates for demanding historians without being pedantic. Mr. Dillon describes in detail the great toll 'Madame Geneva' took on the poor: the spirit's maiming and blinding qualities (turpentine was a favorite flavoring agent after all); the destruction of the social fabric; the ill-begotten reform attempts. (I did find myself wishing he had more fully described when gin cleaned up its act and became a respectable liquor; maybe that will be in the sequel!). Mr. Dillon pointedly closes his book with the lesson that those who don't know history are destined to repeat it: the war on drugs has failed, just as previous attempts at prohibition have failed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Novel about Gin, January 9, 2010

By 

A loving Grandma "Great Grandma" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Gin: The Much Lamented Death of Madam Geneva the Eighteenth Century Gin Craze (Paperback)

My husband who loves gin and tonics and has also researched every kind of gin available really enjoyed reading this book. Although he is a true "historian" and not big on fiction this novel was a fast read and informational. For the person who has everything and loves to read.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Uneven, but worthwhile, January 9, 2006

By 

Glen Engel Cox (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gin: The Much Lamented Death of Madam Geneva the Eighteenth Century Gin Craze (Paperback)

The problem with this book is that it's uneven, in both its content and its writing style. Writing about Gin in the 1700s, Dillon does an excellent job of finding and presenting the sources that reveal both the origins of gin, reasons for its initial growth and popularity, the successive attempts and prohibition and the eventual compromise of restriction but acceptance. Unfortunately, while belaboring some of this information, he expects and doesn't explain some of the more unusual aspects of eighteenth century England, such as exactly what magistrates were and how much power they wielded. It would have been useful, as well, when he was connecting the government's policies regarding gin to the greater politics of monarchical succession and conflicts between England and Spain to have given a small primer in both. Instead, you have to figure a lot of this extra knowledge by simply having been familiar with these topics prior to reading this book, by referencing other works to fill in the gaps, or attempting to understand these issues by reading between the lines. Ultimately, this was very frustrating.

And that's too bad, because Dillon's topic and argument is timely and interesting. Although he has an epilogue that underscores this point, Dillon's depiction of England's dance with Madame Geneva is unmistakeably an object lesson that has already been ignored once by the United States, during the 1920s, and is being ignored once again today in the War on Drugs. Truly, those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it, and this is history that has been ignored so long that it is forgotten. There are reasons for it, for the forces of moralism and sobriety, driven by their fundamentalist doctrine, have not given up their battle against intoxicating substances no matter the pragmatical realities and lessons of the past. We can only hope that, like England's Gin Act of 1751 and the repeal of prohibition in the U.S. in 1929, there will be a future day where an armistice is declared and we can take control of the drug trade, and, ultimately, attack the root causes that drive people to abuse substances.