Hideous Absinthe: A History of the Devil in a Bottle

by Jad Adams

     Hideous Absinthe boldly combines the art, literature, science, and social history of the nineteenth century to produce the story of a drink that came to symbolize both the high points of art and the depths of degeneration.
    Jad Adams looks at the myths of absinthe and examines its influence on the artistic movements of the nineteenth century. He considers the work of Degas, Manet, and Picasso, who painted what are now considered masterpieces depicting absinthe drinkers. He examines the mystery of van Gogh’s absinthe addiction and asks whether absinthe truly did contribute to the poetic vision of Verlaine, Rimbaud, and other writers.
    Adams looks back at absinthe’s contribution to the hedonistic culture of the French Second Empire and to Toulouse-Lautrec’s Paris of the 1890s and details the outraged English reaction to absinthe in the context of resistance to French art. Absinthe was seen as a foreign poison undermining the national resolve just as the decadence of Oscar Wilde and his circle was seen to undermine national culture.
    The story continues through thrill-seeking American and English absinthe drinkers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Copublished with I.B. Tauris.
The Wisconsin edition is for sale only in North America.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Booze, Food and Drink, Historical

304 pages, Hardcover

Published April 15, 2004

About the author

Jad Adams is a historian working as an author and an independent television producer. He has specialized in work on radical characters from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and 'the decadence' of the 1890s.

Reviews

[Branden William · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a kaleidoscope journey from wormwood 'falling as a star from the sky' in the Book of Revelations to its national modern-day revival. It depicts significant, individualized artistic movements influenced by and/or around the drink itself such as: absinthe as a trend in the nineteenth-century French café, its sophisticated appeal to the middle-class and the "l'heure verte", Bohemian experimentation from dandys such as Baudelaire and the lesser known Harry Crosby, its surreal effect on French writers such as Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine, and English decadents like Oscar Wilde. It also details accounts of excessive usage by painters like Van Gogh, and points out the possibility of a subtle spoken influence upon the macabre-horror tales of Edgar Allen Poe. 'Hideous Absinthe' also points out the linkage of absinthe influence between the decadents of the 1890s and writers like Maurice Rollinat (an unknown gem), and twentieth century writers like the infamous Aleister Crowley. The author's stance remains, however, very neutral when concerning Absinthe as major influences on the poetry, writing, and paintings themselves. He remains critical in acknowledging absinthe as dangerous in itself, in fact goes upon saying, "Some people will abuse it, but this will be because of their tendency to abuse substances, not because of inherent qualities in the drink itself."

'Hideous Absinthe' also explains in vulgar detail the prohibition against the 'green fairy', and the many civil cases brought up against it, nationally, as well as the anti-absinthe propagandist paranoia that swept through Europe during the first world war. The author also explains in great detail to the misinformed general public regarding absinthe and its mythical 'hallucinatory' effects, and traces back through history boldly, explaining the various reasonings this misguided fabrication involving absinthe came to be what it is to-day. 'Hideous Absinthe' is sprinkled with an innumerable array of exotic evidence and interesting tidbits-- in the vein of absinthe paraphernalia, women and absinthe, lesbianism in fin de siècle France, the Chat Noir, and New Orleans as a major centre for the import of illegal alcohol during prohibition-- to make this an exciting read, and to be proudly placed on the bookshelves next to books on nineteenth-century French fiction and fin de siècle poetry. Personally, I would describe this book as the 'history book of absinthe' rather than a connoisseur's guide to absinthe drinking like many of the others, or an ill-informed bias focusing too deeply on any particular period. Throughout my own personal research on absinthe, I use 'Hideous Absinthe' as a reference more often than any other book on the subject, for its "matter of fact" detail renders palatable to all: the absinthe researcher, drinker, poet, artist or student alike. Overall, this book is greatly recommended to the eager unbiased student, interested in learning the factual history of the most controversial drink in Europe, and the perils, tribulations, and glory that is attached to this cultural phenomenon.

[Philip Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I became interested in Absinthe after reading of how it is often blamed for the madness of notable characters such as Van Gogh and also blamed for, or at least being a major contributing factor in the death of Ernest Dowson. Adam's book is a history of the drink, the place it had in society, ranging from being a cure for almost all ills, to being the poison of many, and even the poison of Nations.

Adam's accounts of how Absinthe affected (or in fact, did not) the life and creativity of characters such as Van Gogh, Strindberg, Verlaine, Dowson and Wilde gives a unique insight into the lives of these important artists and writers who would use Absinth to escape from a World where they were often misunderstood.

This journey with the 'green fairy' takes us from the very first mention of Absinthe and Wormwood, and it's use as an almost miracle cure, including a cure for drunkenness(!), through the decades of decadence and excess, war and prohibition to the present day.

A very welcome but unexpected affect this book has had on this reader, is that it really has given a glimpse into the world of some hugely interesting characters from the past that I will now explore.

An outstanding history of "the devil in a bottle".

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adams has crafted a thoroughly researched tome that explores the history of absinthe use in society with emphasis on its peak use in the late nineteenth century. While it runs from ancient Egypt's medicinal uses up to today's connoisseurs on the web, the focus of the book is on its peak usage period from mid-19th century Europe to its eventual banning in the early 20th century.

I'd heard about absinthe some thirty years ago, and its purported mind-altering effects were the stuff of urban legend. When something is banned, all people have to go by are tall tales meant to keep a firm grip on the listener's attention. Adams explores that aspect. How much of absinthe's legend is true; how much is hype? He focuses on the poets and painters who were associated with absinthe. He goes into great detail about the lives of famous artists (Van Gogh, Gaugin, Verlaine, Degas, Dowson, Wilde, etc.) to determine how much of their work's success, moral shortcomings, and health failures can be attributed to "the green fairy." In fact, he goes into so much detail that I feel he got sidetracked. The book becomes less about absinthe and more a study of the Decadent Movement and its propensity for creating alcoholics.

After absinthe becomes a victim of its own hype, the narrative rushes to modern day. Contemporary accounts note that absinthe tastes like crap, and Adams barely questions why that may be. A few scientific accounts are brought up, but it seems that biochemical analysis was a bit lacking at the time of publication. We know that thujone is the active ingredient in wormwood oil that gives absinthe its claim to mind-altering fame, but there doesn't seem to be any consensus on anything other than toxicity levels. As for why its taste doesn't hold up? We're met with a shrug, which isn't a great way to end a book.

3.5 stars

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

As one of the other reviewers points out, this book largely focuses on the fin de siècle through the lens of absinthe culture, discussing the effects of absinthe on such critters as Baudelaire, Van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, etc.

That's all very fine and good, but this book is supposed to be about absinthe, and whenever one of the "names" is introduced, the reader is subjected to a biography of that person that goes WAY overlong. If I wanted to read a book about van Gogh (and I often do) then I will pick up a book about van Gogh...not a book about absinthe. It can often run 10, 20, 30 or more pages where absinthe is hardly mentioned at all, and that was very problematic for me. It was even more frustrating when these sections would sometimes end with summations along the lines of, "So, in closing, it seems like absinthe had little to no effect on the art / writings of artist / writer X."

Then why we you talking about them?

For so long?

All in all, this is a very good 150 page book. But it's 250 pages.

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars, because I liked it (enough).

This book isnt a naturalistic history of Absinthe, like the books i ve read bout Tobacco, or Cod, or Milk, etc. It doesnt go too much into the habits, the manufacturers/brands, the advertising models,

Instead it focuses mostly on bohemians who have had major minor or trivial interactions with absinthe. The french impressionists, french poets, Swedish bohemians (the most interesting part), the english bohemians, and then the 20th century american novelists/poets

This was not what i was expecting, and this purposeful shift of focus prevents this book from becoming the Ultimate Absinthe Naturalist History.

But i get it. The last section of the book is the parts i most desired - what does thujone do? What are teh proper absinthes?

The answer is absinthe is just a huge scam. Thujone does very little, most absinthe has no or too little wormwood to taste bitterness. But even if it had a ton, it still doesnt do much if anything.

In the end, this book is about a hard liquor, and a lot of alcoholics hallucinating because their body is dieing from the alcoholism.

and thats the green fairy. this book thoroughly convinced me to stay away from absinthe, theres just no point.

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, though it mostly focused on absinthe and the bohemian culture of the 19th century. That was fine, but descended a bit into "this artist drank absinthe as well as this writer." I enjoyed the cultural impacts of the booze as well. The poor consumed it in mass quantities. The middle class loved it as well, but could never acknowledge doing anything like the poor... hence the sugar ritual. What I found fascinating were the ideas and discussion of the 'mystery' of absinthe... in which being there was no mystery. It was another poorly distilled alcohol that was said to drive you crazy... like gin (the gin crazy of the 18th century), ouzo, and tequila. The only difference was that absinthe actually got banned. Because of advances in modern distilling, today's faux-absinthe is not, and can never be, like the absinthe of old. Today's absinthe is a pale shadow.

[Carrie Kotcho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looks at the fin de siècle through the lens of absinthe culture. A great read.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

i learned a lot from this book.

[Kymba Khan · Rating 2 out of 5]

i had to stop before the halfway point.
this book is REPETITIVE, and could have used a better/stronger/more attentive editor.
yawn and a half.

[Mark Spivak · Rating 3 out of 5]

A study of the impact Absinthe had on the culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

really cool

[Aaron the Pink Donut · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough and well written, if not a little dry.

[Patrick Dempsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but it wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. This book is probably equal parts about Absinthe and the bohemian artists and writers who drank it. Thats not a bad thing strictly. I found myself enjoying the chapters that sometimes only tangentially related to the titular green booze, but I think if your goal in reading this book is purely Absinthe itself, I think, you could abridge the book and only skim the portions in the middle. Still I did enjoy the book.

~~If I had a nickel for every time this month I would read a book that turned out to have large portions dedicated to the life and times of artists in Paris I would have two nickels~~

[John Hubbard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read. The politics and popularity of the green fairie for the last couple hundred years.