Title: A Social History of Tea: Tea's Influence on Commerce, Culture & Community
Length: 248pg
Date of Publication: December 3, 2013
Link:Book
Professional Review
'“This is the secret side the social history of tea and it has now been revealed in The Social History of Tea in Britain and America. I hope to be only the first of many to bow with thanks and praise to authors Jane Pettigrew and Bruce Richardson.
Here is history as it should be written. In a spell-binding way the story skips merrily along while seeming to skip nothing; it moves quickly but never seems to hurry. We linger in the boudoir of Catherine of Braganza while the tea steeps no longer than whilst you can say the Miserere Psalm very leisurely. Any lover of quaint and curious lore will spend happy hours taking instruction from these authors. I daresay the saga of the subjugation of the English-speaking world by the leaf of this Asian shrub has never been better told, and I say so as one who has studied the matter.
This achievement is all the more remarkable considered as an Anglo-American collaboration. Jane is the (very) English author of the well-known Social History of Tea in Britain published there by the National Trust. Bruce, her American publisher at Benjamin Press, has added American social history to Jane s classic account, blending not only their voices but their points of view. To illustrate: Bruce is surely America s leading historian of the Boston Tea Party, serving as tea authority for the BTP Museum, amongst much else, but Jane s collaboration requires fairness to British policymakers: By 1773, the East India Company faced a surplus of 17 million pounds of tea...more than all England could drink in a year...debts were mounting and the Bank of England refused them any loans...If the East India Company collapsed, the banks and the British treasury would follow. Too big to fail has now become a familiar concept.
With the 20th century everything grew bigger, faster and scarier. Phenomena like the automobile, telephone, Prohibition and back-to-back World Wars changed everything. The glamour of tea gowns, tea dances, tea leaf reading and fancy hotel teas wore off by the half-century and in both UK and US tea quality sank beneath the economics of the teabag. Jane and Bruce have played major roles in the successful rescue effort which we now term our Tea Renaissance but I find too much to praise and will stop here. You re sure to enjoy their secret history.”'
-James Norwood Pratt
Reader Review:
"A Social History of Tea - the Expanded Version - is an excellent tea reference book as well as a good read. Bruce Richardson and Jane Pettigrew have a way of writing a history book that is up-to-date and upbeat in tone. They never fail to please.
Jane Pettigrew is well-known as an enthusiast tea historian who shares her knowledge and love of tea around the world. It is well worth the time to research her author's page and website.
Bruce Richardson, Elmwood Inn and Benjamin Press, is more recently acclaimed for his tea history contributions to the Boston Tea Party commemoration. More about the commemoration can be found at bostonteapartyship.com. Mr. Richardson's tea articles can be read in Fresh Cup magazine, Tea Time (Hoffman Media), and other tea/history/gourmet magazines.
The book isn't just another pretty face although the cover is quite beautiful. A Social History of Tea gives us insight into the growing influence of tea upon society."
- Jennifer C. Peterson
What does this book teach the reader?
This book teaches the reader about the impact tea has had across the American and British cultures, and how they impact us today.
'“This is the secret side the social history of tea and it has now been revealed in The Social History of Tea in Britain and America. I hope to be only the first of many to bow with thanks and praise to authors Jane Pettigrew and Bruce Richardson.
Here is history as it should be written. In a spell-binding way the story skips merrily along while seeming to skip nothing; it moves quickly but never seems to hurry. We linger in the boudoir of Catherine of Braganza while the tea steeps no longer than whilst you can say the Miserere Psalm very leisurely. Any lover of quaint and curious lore will spend happy hours taking instruction from these authors. I daresay the saga of the subjugation of the English-speaking world by the leaf of this Asian shrub has never been better told, and I say so as one who has studied the matter.
This achievement is all the more remarkable considered as an Anglo-American collaboration. Jane is the (very) English author of the well-known Social History of Tea in Britain published there by the National Trust. Bruce, her American publisher at Benjamin Press, has added American social history to Jane s classic account, blending not only their voices but their points of view. To illustrate: Bruce is surely America s leading historian of the Boston Tea Party, serving as tea authority for the BTP Museum, amongst much else, but Jane s collaboration requires fairness to British policymakers: By 1773, the East India Company faced a surplus of 17 million pounds of tea...more than all England could drink in a year...debts were mounting and the Bank of England refused them any loans...If the East India Company collapsed, the banks and the British treasury would follow. Too big to fail has now become a familiar concept.
With the 20th century everything grew bigger, faster and scarier. Phenomena like the automobile, telephone, Prohibition and back-to-back World Wars changed everything. The glamour of tea gowns, tea dances, tea leaf reading and fancy hotel teas wore off by the half-century and in both UK and US tea quality sank beneath the economics of the teabag. Jane and Bruce have played major roles in the successful rescue effort which we now term our Tea Renaissance but I find too much to praise and will stop here. You re sure to enjoy their secret history.”'
-James Norwood Pratt
Here is history as it should be written. In a spell-binding way the story skips merrily along while seeming to skip nothing; it moves quickly but never seems to hurry. We linger in the boudoir of Catherine of Braganza while the tea steeps no longer than whilst you can say the Miserere Psalm very leisurely. Any lover of quaint and curious lore will spend happy hours taking instruction from these authors. I daresay the saga of the subjugation of the English-speaking world by the leaf of this Asian shrub has never been better told, and I say so as one who has studied the matter.
This achievement is all the more remarkable considered as an Anglo-American collaboration. Jane is the (very) English author of the well-known Social History of Tea in Britain published there by the National Trust. Bruce, her American publisher at Benjamin Press, has added American social history to Jane s classic account, blending not only their voices but their points of view. To illustrate: Bruce is surely America s leading historian of the Boston Tea Party, serving as tea authority for the BTP Museum, amongst much else, but Jane s collaboration requires fairness to British policymakers: By 1773, the East India Company faced a surplus of 17 million pounds of tea...more than all England could drink in a year...debts were mounting and the Bank of England refused them any loans...If the East India Company collapsed, the banks and the British treasury would follow. Too big to fail has now become a familiar concept.
With the 20th century everything grew bigger, faster and scarier. Phenomena like the automobile, telephone, Prohibition and back-to-back World Wars changed everything. The glamour of tea gowns, tea dances, tea leaf reading and fancy hotel teas wore off by the half-century and in both UK and US tea quality sank beneath the economics of the teabag. Jane and Bruce have played major roles in the successful rescue effort which we now term our Tea Renaissance but I find too much to praise and will stop here. You re sure to enjoy their secret history.”'
-James Norwood Pratt
Jane Pettigrew is well-known as an enthusiast tea historian who shares her knowledge and love of tea around the world. It is well worth the time to research her author's page and website.
Bruce Richardson, Elmwood Inn and Benjamin Press, is more recently acclaimed for his tea history contributions to the Boston Tea Party commemoration. More about the commemoration can be found at bostonteapartyship.com. Mr. Richardson's tea articles can be read in Fresh Cup magazine, Tea Time (Hoffman Media), and other tea/history/gourmet magazines.
The book isn't just another pretty face although the cover is quite beautiful. A Social History of Tea gives us insight into the growing influence of tea upon society."
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