Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol

Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol

by Mallory O'Meara
Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol

Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol

by Mallory O'Meara

Hardcover(Original)

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Overview

*A Finalist for the Spirited Award for Best New Book on Drinks Culture, History or Spirits*
*A Guardian Best History and Politics Book of 2022*


“At last, the feminist history of booze we’ve been waiting for!” —Amy Stewart, author of The Drunken Botanist

The James Beard Award-winning history of women drinking through the ages

Strawberry daiquiris. Skinny martinis. Vodka sodas with lime. These are the cocktails that come in sleek-stemmed glasses, bright colors and fruity flavors—these are the Girly Drinks.

From the earliest days of civilization, alcohol has been at the center of social rituals and cultures worldwide. But when exactly did drinking become a gendered act? And why have bars long been considered “places for men” when, without women, they might not even exist?

With whip-smart insight and boundless curiosity, Girly Drinks unveils an entire untold history of the female distillers, drinkers and brewers who have played a vital role in the creation and consumption of alcohol, from ancient Sumerian beer goddess Ninkasi to iconic 1920s bartender Ada Coleman. Filling a crucial gap in culinary history, O’Meara dismantles the long-standing patriarchal traditions at the heart of these very drinking cultures, in the hope that readers everywhere can look to each celebrated woman in this book—and proudly have what she’s having.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781335282408
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Publication date: 10/19/2021
Edition description: Original
Pages: 384
Sales rank: 73,165
Product dimensions: 6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Mallory O'Meara is an author, screenwriter and a producer for the independent film company Dark Dunes Productions. Whether it is for the screen or the page, she seeks creative projects imbued with horror and monsters. A New England native, she now lives in Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

Introduction 13

1 Drunken Monkeys and Discovering Alcohol: The Dawn of Time 18

2 Cleopatra and Her Inimitable Liver: The Ancient World 34

3 Hildegard's Brewnuns Just Want to Have Fun: The Early Middle Ages 54

4 Li Qingzhao and the Devil's Schoolhouse: The High Middle Ages 74

5 The Deviant Mirth of Mary Frith: The Renaissance 90

6 The Vodka Empire of Catherine the Great: The Eighteenth Century 109

7 The Widow Clicquot and the Deliciously Feminine: The Nineteenth Century 140

8 Ada Coleman's American Bar: The Twentieth Century 171

9 Gertrude Lythgoe, Queen of the Bootleggers: The 1920s 192

10 Tequila, Trousers and the Legacy of Lucha Reyes: The 1930s and 40s 229

11 Sunny Sund the Beachcomber: The 1950s 252

12 Ladies Night with Bessie Williamson: The 1960s and 70s 273

13 The Joy Spence Anniversary Blend: The 1980s and 90s 297

14 Julie Reiner behind the Bar after Three: The 2000s 318

15 Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela's Bold Brew: The 2010s 333

Epilogue 348

Acknowledgments 351

Sources 353

Index 373

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