Wormwood, A Drama of Paris.
Chicago: Donohue Brothers, 1890. Authorized American Edition. illustrated maroon cloth covers, top edge gilt, 353 pp.
Written by wildly popular and eccentric bestselling English novelist Marie Corelli, (born Mary Mackay, 1855 - 1924). Fabulist, architectural preservationist, probable lesbian, convicted food hoarder and target of bullying by Mark Twain.
Set in Paris, Gaston Beauvias is driven to commit murder and is doomed to ruin under the wicked influence of absinthe, also known as the "green fairy”, popular with the hip aesthetic crowd of artists and writers. The high alcohol content, supposed hallucinogenic properties and subversive reputation made it a subject of both fascination and fear and therefore irresistible to bohemian lifestyle influencers.
The novel is purported to have contributed to legislation in France and Switzerland relating to alcohol and was also said to be indirectly responsible for a ban on absinthe in the United States. In response to this, buzzkill Maria Corelli said it was "a great thing to have accomplished, to have saved a noble nation from one of the most malignant curses of modern times.”
Price: $30.00