The Gin Craze
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the economic and social factors that led to the craze for gin in the 18th century and the moves to control it
In a programme first broadcast in December 2016, Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the craze for gin in Britain in the mid-18th century and the attempts to control it. With the arrival of William of Orange, it became an act of loyalty to drink Protestant, Dutch gin rather than Catholic brandy, and changes in tariffs made everyday beer less affordable. Within a short time, production increased and large sections of the population that had rarely or never drunk spirits before were consuming two pints of gin a week. As Hogarth indicated in his print 'Beer Street and Gin Lane' (1751) in support of the Gin Act, the damage was severe, and addiction to gin was blamed for much of the crime in cities such as London.
With
Angela McShane
Research Fellow in History at the Victoria and Albert Museum and University of Sheffield
Judith Hawley
Professor of 18th century literature at Royal Holloway, University of London
Emma Major
Senior Lecturer in English at the University of York
Producer: Simon Tillotson
Last on
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Gin鈥檚 current popularity is small beer compared with the 1700s, writes Helen Nianias.
Clip
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Gin: the boozy old lady held in great affection
Duration: 01:06
LINKS AND FURTHER READING
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READING LIST:
Peter Clark, The English Alehouse: A Social History, 1200-1830 (Longman, 1983)
Patrick Dillon, Gin: The Much-Lamented Death of Madam Geneva: The Eighteenth-century Gin Craze (Thistle Publishing, 2013)
Vic Gattrell, The First Bohemians: Life and Art in London's Golden Age (Penguin, 2014)
Peter Haydon, An Inebriated History of Britain (The History Press, 2005)
Henry Jeffreys, Empire of Booze (Unbound, 2016)
Paul Jennings, A History of Drink and the English, 1500-2000 (Routledge, 2016)
James Nicholls, The Politics of Alcohol: A History of the Drink Question in England (Manchester University Press, 2011)
Roy Porter, English Society in Eighteenth-Century Britain听(Penguin, 1990)
Adam Smyth (ed.), A Pleasing Sinne: Drink and Conviviality in Seventeenth-Century England (D. S. Brewer, 2004)
Jenny Uglow, William Hogarth: A Life and a World (Faber and Faber, 2002)
Jessica Warner, Craze: Gin and Debauchery in an Age of Reason (Profile Books, 2002)
Olivia Williams, Gin Glorious Gin: How Mother's Ruin Became the Spirit of London (Headline, 2014)
Last Orders: A Social History of Drinking (History Today, e-book, 2012)
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Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Melvyn Bragg |
| Interviewed Guest | Angela McShane |
| Interviewed Guest | Judith Hawley |
| Interviewed Guest | Emma Major |
| Producer | Simon Tillotson |
Broadcasts
- Thu 15 Dec 2016 09:00主播大秀 Radio 4
- Thu 15 Dec 2016 21:30主播大秀 Radio 4
- Thu 2 Apr 2020 09:00主播大秀 Radio 4
- Thu 2 Apr 2020 21:30主播大秀 Radio 4
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