| Water of Life Contributor(s): Wilson, Anne (Author) |
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ISBN: 1903018463 ISBN-13: 9781903018460 Publisher: Prospect Books (UK) OUR PRICE: $54.00 Product Type: Hardcover Published: October 2006 Annotation: This important book looks at the entire history of distilling in the Middle East and Europe from the earliest experiments by the Pythagorean alchemists of Ptolemaic Egypt in the fourth century BC to the commerical production of spirits in the British Isles to the year 2000. The author links the art of distilling to alchemical practice; to the Dionysian cults of ancient Greece and Rome; to the development of the art by the Gnostic mystic Christian sects; to the research of the Persians and Arabs; to the preservation of the art by various heretic cults in western Europe; into more mainstream development by the medieval and Renaissance alchemists; before comparative relaxation into the domestic history of distilling in England for the manufacture of strong liquor and the making of medicinal and perfumed waters by members of the landed gentry. While dealing extensively with the mystical, cultish and religious origins of distilling, as well as its links to early science, the book looks closely at all forms of distilling in the British Isles, including the manufacture of spiritous liquors, and the part played in country house domestic life by cordial waters and other distillations. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Cooking | History |
| Dewey: 663.509 |
| Physical Information: 1.12" H x 4.84" W x 9.58" (1.32 lbs) 300 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This important book looks at the entire history of distilling in the Middle East and Europe from the earliest experiments by the Pythagorean alchemists of Ptolomaic Egypt in the fourth century BC to the commercial production of spirits to drink in the British Isles to the year 2000. It is important because Ms Wilson has explored byways of early history that have been little noticed by previous scholars. She links the art of distilling to alchemical practice; to the Dionysian cults of ancient Greece and Rome; to the development of the art by the Gnostic mystic Christian sects (who greatly influenced the Coptic church in lower Egypt and Ethiopia); to the researches of the Persians and Arabs; to the preservation of the art by various heretic cults in western Europe such as the Bogomils and Cathars and, of course, the Templars; then into more mainstream development by the medieval and Renaissance alchemists; before comparative relaxation into the domestic history of distilling in England for the manufacture of strong liquor and the making of medicinal and perfumed waters by members of the landed gentry. |