Professor of Eighteenth-Century Literature
Royal Holloway, University of London
Research expertise
Eighteenth-century literature and culture ; Laurence Sterne ; groups and coteries such as the Bluestockings and the Scriblerians ; private theatricals in the long nineteenth century.
Contributions
Objets
Pratiques
Concepts
Gin and the Gin Craze
The juniper-flavoured spirit, gin, was highly popular in the eighteenth century. The ‘Gin Craze’ swept through the poorer districts of London in particular, leading to widespread concern that its deleterious effects on the health of the labouring classes could precipitate a national decline.