Pen z • z& Sword A Dark History of Tea
A Dark History of Sugar
Seren Charrington Hollins
Neil Buttery
$24.95 • Paperback 184 pages • 6.1x9.1 • 32 black and white illustrations • May 2022 HIS054000 • 978-1-52-676681-6
$39.95 • Hardback • 224 pages 6.1x9.1 • 50 black and white illustrations • May 2022 • CKB041000 978-1-52-678365-3
A Dark History of Tea explores our long relationship with this most revered of hot beverages. This humble herbal infusion has been used in burial rituals and as a dowry payment for aristocrats. It has fueled wars, spelled fortunes and built empires, gradually forming an integral part of the cultural fabric of British life. This book delves into the distasteful history of a drink that is now considered to be quintessentially British. It tells a story of cruelty, slavery and illicit opium smuggling, all practices that enabled tea to flow into the cups of British society. Scattered throughout this fascinating history are interesting facts about tea etiquette and tradition. Discover the link between tea and seduction and read about the illicit liaisons that occurred as a result of teatime meetings. This is an enjoyable rollercoaster of dark discoveries that will cast away any thoughts of tea as something that merely accompanies breaks, sit downs and biscuits.
Renowned food historian Neil Buttery takes a look at some of the lesser-known elements of the history of sugar, delving into the murky and mysterious aspects of its phenomenal rise from the first cultivation of the sugar cane plant in Papua New Guinea in 8,000 BCE to becoming an integral part of the cultural fabric of life in Britain and the rest of the West – at whatever cost. The dark history of sugar is one of exploitation: of slaves and workers, of the environment and of the consumer. Wars have been fought over it and it is responsible for what is potentially to be the planet’s greatest health crisis. And yet we cannot get enough of it, for sugar and sweetness has cast its spell over us all; it is comfort and we reminisce fondly about the sweets, cakes, puddings and fizzy drinks of our childhoods with dewy-eyed nostalgia. To be sweet means to be good, to be innocent; in this book Neil Buttery argues that sugar is nothing of the sort. Indeed, it is guilty of some of the worst crimes against humanity and the planet.
The Weird and Wonderful Story of Gin
The Origins of Wizards, Witches and Fairies
From the 17th Century to the Present Day
Simon Webb $34.95 • Hardback • 208 pages 6.1x9.1 • 20 black and white illustrations March 2022 • SOC022000 978-1-39-900007-9
Angela Youngman $34.95 • Hardback • 224 pages • 6.1x9.1 20 black and white illustrations May 2022 • CKB088000 978-1-39-900276-9
Gin is a global alcoholic drink that has polarized opinion like no other, and its history has been a roller coaster, alternating between being immensely popular and utterly unfashionable. The Weird and Wonderful Story of Gin explores the exciting, interesting and downright curious aspects of the drink, with crime, murder, poisons, fires, dramatic accidents, artists, legends and disasters all playing a part. These dark themes are also frequently used to promote brands and drinks. Did you know that the Filipinos are the world’s biggest gin drinkers? And even that Jack the Ripper, Al Capone and the Krays all have their place in the history of gin? Not to mention Sir Winston Churchill, Noel Coward, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and James Bond!
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This book tells the fascinating story of the origin of our ideas about wizards, witches and fairies. We all have a clear mental image of the pointed hats worn by such individuals, which are based upon actual headgear dating back 3,000 years to the Bronze Age. Carefully sifting through old legends, archaeological evidence and modern research in genetics, Simon Webb shows us how our notions about fairies and elves, together with human workers of magic, have evolved over the centuries. This exploration of folklore, backed by the latest scientific findings, will present readers with the image of a lost world; the one used as the archetype for fantasy adventures from The Lord of the Rings to Game of Thrones. In the process, the real nature of wizards will be revealed and their connection with the earliest European cultures thoroughly documented. After reading this book, nobody will ever be able to view Gandalf the wizard in the same light and even old fairy tales such as Beauty and the Beast will take on a richer and deeper meaning. In short, our perception of wizards, witches and fairies will be altered forever.
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