The Dedalus Book of Absinthe by Phil Baker, Dedalus, £9.99, ISBN
1873982941
THAT vague atmosphere of decadence known as fin de siècle applies
strictly to the end of the 19th century. It had a powerful symbol: absinthe, the
green drink that subversive notables of the time such as Oscar Wilde, Paul
Verlaine and Ernest Dowson were alleged to swallow while engaging in nameless
practices.
According to Phil Baker, absinthe is making a comeback as a fashionable
drink. If so, are the drinkers on the slide to degradation, hallucinations,
mania and early death, as was popularly supposed?
The first section…
