Although Bickham had no idea about the virus when he wrote his book, he draws a vivid and suddenly up-to-date picture of how people's everyday lives intertwine across worlds and time zones, when goods are constantly crossing borders., What Bickham, a Texas historian, shows throughout this congenial study is that the British had begun to define themselves in this period not just through the canons of political liberty, the polemical hubbub of the coffeehouses, and the tankards of tongue-loosening country ale but also through the cultivation of a larger sense of discernment about where their victuals and intoxicants came from, and what ramifications they spread through society. book on British food habits in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Bickham's beautifully illustrated text is chock full of interesting tidbits and fun asides while still engaging themes that are central to the historiography of this critical period of British imperial history., Everyone is wondering what the corona pandemic can teach us about ourselves and the world we live in. Great stuff., Well researched and a highly enjoyable read, Eating the Empire is a good place to start for those seeking an introduction to Britain's commodity culture, its imperial dimensions, and the range of stimulating products that increasingly came to define the practices of 'civilized' consumption in the British Isles over the long eighteenth century.

Entertainingly written, with blessedly little historiographical jargon, amusingly illustrated with a wealth of contemporary caricatures, this book allows you to ponder the interpenetration of consumption and social action.

Eating the Empire by Troy Bickham