Description
Book SynopsisAn Asian plant with mysterious cathartic powers, medicinal rhubarb spurred European trade expeditions and obsessive scientific inquiry from the Renaissance until the twentieth century. Rarely, however, had there been a plant that so thoroughly frustrated Europeans' efforts to acquire it and to master its special botanical and chemical properties. H
Trade ReviewWinner of the Edward Kremers Award, American Institute of the History of Pharmacy "Foust has written an interesting book, long on commercial and botanical detail... Provides a clear view of another building-block in the emergence of the modern world."--The Times Literary Supplement
Table of ContentsList of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionCh. 1The Roots of Rhubarb3Ch. 2The Very True Rhubarb: The Seventeenth Century18Ch. 3The Russian Rhubarb Trade46Ch. 4The East India Company and European Trade79Ch. 5Collecting and Systematizing96Ch. 6Accommodating the Root: The Society of Arts and Other Promotions112Ch. 7Rhubarb as Medicine: The Eighteenth Century136Ch. 8The Search Ends?158Ch. 9The Testing of Rhubarb180Ch. 10Tarts and Wine213Conclusion240Notes to the Chapters, with List of Abbreviations249Bibliography321Index363
