Part of this week's Moonrat lovefest was a competition to write an outline for a book that she - as an editor for a small New York-based publisher - would choose to pick up for publication. This was my entry. (I suppress my usual modesty for a moment to point out that I won. I am very much looking forward to receiving my prize, an advance copy of an about-to-be-published debut crime novel, The Ghosts Of Belfast by Stuart Neville, another of the Moonrat fan club.)
I don't want to start a category for 'My Brilliant Book Ideas' (although I do have a few of them....), so I'll tag this as as 'Books' and 'My brilliant website/business ideas'. I really do think this one's got legs. I mean, all those titles like Salt and Cod and Meat and Potatoes have done staggeringly well in recent years, haven't they - and there's nothing very sexy about them! I can't believe someone hasn't done this already!!
I confess I do feel a twinge of guilt about this victory, though: it was perhaps just a little bit mean of me to exploit Moonie's known weaknesses so.....
I had to edit down my proposal a bit for the competition entry, to meet the (rather tight!) word-limit of 150 words - at some cost to the elegance, if not to the grammar of the original. So, this is the slightly fuller version. The extended preamble, of course, is merely a set-up for the concluding punchline about Moonrat's favourite tipple. Some Saturday frivol.
Gin
A gin & tonic is the most popular alcoholic mixed drink in the world today, and an estimated 1 billion bottles of the spirit are consumed each year. As we enjoy the simple perfection of this refreshing beverage, we seldom pause to consider how it came into existence. The story of the development and popularization of gin, and its later blissful marriage with tonic water, is a rich and surprising one. Following this compelling tale from the unlikely experiments of pioneering German biochemist Franciscus Sylvius in the mid-1600s and the early success of his strong-flavoured liquor as a medicine against gallstones and gout, through the proliferation of gin-shops that plagued England in the 1700s and the essential contribution of gin as a protection against malaria for the colonialists of the 1800s, through to the craze for "bathtub gin" in 1920s America and the subsequent rise of 'cocktail culture', we reach a better understanding of gin's present eminence as the sedative of choice for the stylish literati of Noughties New York.
11 comments:
Well done! Is Moonrat's company accepting pre-publication orders?.
I assume there will be a chapter or an appendix listing the best G&T anecdotes.
"Stylish literati" won't get you anywhere, you know. Still, always worth a try I suppose.
It's a crush. I grab desperately at passing adjectives, as at buoyant pieces of wooden furniture when the cruise liner sinks.
i remind you of what is not explicitly addressed in your blog post, namely that *i* get first dibs on this project!!!
You are more than welcome to exploit my "inspiration" if you can, Moonie dearest. If you find an author to take the project on, good luck!
I'm sure I would far rather read this book than try to write it.
I confess that the annual consumption figure was nothing but a wild guestimate. And I rather suspect that - if such things could be measured - the leading mixed drink would in fact be rum & cola.
Ah well, print the legend.
There was an excellent book on Gin and its role in English history, in particular the gin houses, that was reviewed on NPR a few years back.
I bought it for Mum for her birthday one year. She was not impressed until she actually read the damn thing.
I believe the book tow hich I refer is:
Jessica Warner, Craze: Gin and Debauchery in an Age of Reason.
Ah, yes, thanks for the reminder, Cowboy.
I think I do recall hearing about that. I don't think Ms Warner's book had the breadth (or superficiality) of vision of my concept, though.
No relation to Jennifer Warner, I don't suppose?
Not the breadth at all. But I thought you might want to read it for the purpose of "research," as our friend Mr. Lehrer would call it.
Ah yes, indeed. I remember great Lobachevsky once said....
I have a friend in Minsk...
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