The Hour of Absinthe

The Hour of Absinthe: A Cultural History of France’s Most Notorious Drink by Nina S. Studer is a meticulously researched cultural history that explores the rise, myth, and fall of absinthe within French and colonial society. Published by McGill-Queen’s University Press and written in English by a historian affiliated with the University of Geneva, it is an authoritative and thoughtful account that situates absinthe not merely as a spirit, but as a prism through which to understand broader social, cultural, and political narratives.

At the height of its popularity in late nineteenth-century cafés, bars, and salons across France and its colonial empire, absinthe became synonymous with creativity, rebellion, and modernity. By the time it was banned in 1915, however, the Green Fairy had been recast as a social menace — a symbol of degeneration, madness, and moral panic. Studer uses a wealth of historical sources to trace how these shifting perceptions emerged, how myths were shaped and propagated, and how absinthe’s reputation was entangled with ideas of gender, class, empire, and science.

Engaging and richly contextualized, this book deconstructs long-held narratives about absinthe’s effects and origins, offering readers a panoramic insight into the cultural forces that transformed a regional spirit into an international icon of controversy and fascination. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the cultural history of spirits, European modernity, and the complex interplay between myth and social change.