Sarah Hand Meacham

Excellent book! This is the printed version of the author's dissertation in history at UVA. Her preface clearly intimates that she was/is one of those folks who spends to much time at Williamsburg, and started asking a question about a site there that led her somewhere she never expected to go. That said, this book is a great place to end up.

The work focuses on alcohol in the colonial Chesapeake (mostly tidewater VA, but some interior VA, and hints of MD). I learned more reading this book about not just the regional history that caught my eye, but also about the larger history of alcohol in Western/English society, and how the industrialization of it played out in terms of broader societal trends (ie, women v men, homelands v colonies, etc). Also interesting was how attitudes towards "hard drink" have shifted as we have become less reliant on alcohol for its sterilization and cleanliness abilities.

(2014 Review #8)… (more)