A Dark History of Gin looks at the origins and development of a drink which seems to have a universal and timeless appeal. Historian Mike Rendell explores the origins of distilling in the ancient world and considers the how, when, where and why of the happy marriage' between distilled spirits and berries from the juniper bush. The book traces the link between gin and the Low Countries (Holland and Belgium) and looks at how the drink was brought across to England when the Dutch-born William of Orange became king. From the tragic era of the gin craze in eighteenth-century London, through to the emergence of the cocktail', the book follows the story of gin across the Atlantic to America and the emergence of the mixologist. It also follows the growth of the Temperance Movement and the origins of the Prohibition, before looking at the period between the First and Second World Wars - the cocktail age. From there the book looks at the emergence in the twentieth century of craft gins across the globe, enabling the drink to enjoy a massive increase in popularity. The book is intended as a light-hearted look-behind-the-scenes at how Mother's Ruin' developed into rather more than just a plain old 'G & T'.

An introduction to the raucous yet educational 'gap year' tours of Europe taken by wealthy British aristocrats in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. For many young eighteenth-century aristocrats, the Grand Tour was an essential rite of passage. Spending many months travelling established routes through France and Italy, they would visit the great cultural sites of western Europe - from Paris, through to Venice, Florence and Rome - ostensibly absorbing art, architecture and culture. Yet all too often, it was a gateway to gambling and debauchery. In this beautifully illustrated guide, Mike Rendell shows how the tour reached its zenith, examining the young tourists' activities and how they acquired 'polish' and an appreciation for fashion, opera and classical antiquity. He also explores their passion for souvenirs and art collecting, and how these items made their way back to grand country houses, which were themselves often modelled to the rules of classical European architecture.

This book will look at the phenomenon of celebrity hookers in the eighteenth century -all of them the subject of extraordinary press scrutiny and comment. They were the fashion icons of the age, and what they wore was copied and put on sale in the high street within days. Many of them were passed around within the same small circle of aristocratic lovers. They were the object of constant gossip and whether they were flaunting their fame by taking a box at the opera for the entire season, or by parading through Hyde Park in a phaeton pulled by matching cream ponies, or returning from Paris wearing the very latest fashions, they enjoyed a celebrity status nowadays bestowed on TV reality stars and footballers' wives.

Pirates and Privateers tells the fascinating story of the buccaneers who were the scourge of merchants in the 18th Century. It examines their lifestyle, looking at how the sinking of the Spanish treasure fleet in a storm off the coast of Florida led to a pirate's gold rush; how the King's Pardon was a desperate gamble - which paid off - and considers the role of individual island governors, such as Woodes Rogers in the Bahamas, in bringing piracy under control. The book also looks at how piracy has been a popular topic in print, plays, songs and now films, making thieves and murderers into swash-buckling heroes. It also considers the whole question of buried treasure - and gives a lively account of many of the pirates who dominated the so-called 'Golden Age' of Piracy.

Peek beneath the bedsheets of eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Britain in this affectionate, informative and fascinating look at sex and sexuality during the reigns of Georges I-IV. It examines the prevailing attitudes towards male and female sexual behaviour, and the ways in which these attitudes were often determined by those in positions of power and authority. It also explores our ancestors' ingenious, surprising, bizarre and often entertaining solutions to the challenges associated with maintaining a healthy sex life. Did the people in Georgian Britain live up to their stereotypes when it came to sexual behaviour? This book will answer this question, as well as looking at fashion, food, science, art, medicine, magic, literature, love, politics, faith and superstition through a new lens, leaving the reader enlightened and with a new regard for the ingenuity and character of our ancestors.

This is the story of one of the most famous and popular entrepreneurs of the 18th Century - a man dubbed "the father of the modern circus." Philip Astley was a teenager who yearned for adventure and above all who wanted to work with horses. He served in the British Army in the Seven Years War, learning how to train horses for battle, and then left to find his fortune in London giving riding lessons and putting on exhibitions of trick riding. In doing so he came up with a formula for entertaining thousands, with his demonstrations of clowning on horseback, juggling, rope walking and acrobatics. He dazzled with fireworks, he impressed with colour and he amazed his audiences with re-enactments of battles and sieges. In doing so he launched the modern circus, building circus premises across Europe and inspiring others to follow the trail which he blazed. It is a story of courage and resilience, and of how one man, in the right place at the right time, achieved a remarkable success in the field of popular entertainment. This version is heavily illustrated throughout, thirty of the illustrations being in colour.