What is it about?
A study of the changing drinking culture of Scotland over three centuries. The book examines changes in the type of drink consumed in Scotland, including the switch from beer as the drink of the masses, to whisky, often poor quality and adulterated. This took place during a period of increasing urbanisation and industrialisation. The book goes on to examine the Scottish temperance movement, perhaps the strongest in Europe, and the movement's attempts to ban or limit the consumption of alcohol. By the late twentieth century, the Scottish licensing laws had been liberalised, and an increasing amount of drinking took place at home, instead of in the pub. The book ends with a series of interviews with Scottish licencees during 2014, asking them about their working experiences in the trade, and questioning them about where they see the future of the Scottish pub.
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Why is it important?
Remarkably, in view of the importance of drink in Scottish popular culture and literature, this is the first full length study of the history of Scottish pubs and drinking places. Many Scottish historians have ignored or downplayed the importance of ale houses, dramshops, brewseats, shebeens, licensed grocers, tipling houses, pubs and taverns, in the lives of the mass of the population. The book includes an important chapter on the Scottish temperance movement, a central part of Scottish life in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which deserves much closer attention from historians. The book was shortlisted for Scottish History Book of the Year, 2016 by the Saltire Society.
Perspectives
As a professional historian, who has written on a range of topics in Scottish economic, social, educational and cultural history, this book was a labour of love, informed by my research in areas like textile history, and the history of adult education in Scotland. The book is illustrated by photographs, both historical and contemporary ones, taken by the author, plus cartoons. There is a short list of recommended pubs throughout Scotland, with special historical, cultural, architectural or literary significance. The book discusses literature associated with pubs and drinking places, from Robert Burns and Walter Scott, to contemporary Scottish writers like Ian Rankin or Irvine Welsh, who write knowledgeably and informatively about present day Scottish drinking places.
Mr ANTHONY JOHN COOKE
University of Dundee
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: A History of Drinking, July 2015, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1515/9781474400138.
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