Promotional Information

A wonderful piece of work that will engage a wide readership. The subject of scent is central to so many attitudes and opinions in early modern culture, and Dugan does a splendid job of reminding us of its importance to canonical and noncanonical works. I know of nothing quite like this book. -- Michael Schoenfeldt, University of Michigan

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Strange, Invisible Perfumes
1. Censing God: Frankincense, Censers, Churches
2. Casting Selves: Rosewater, Casting Bottles, Court
3. Discovering Sassafras: Sassafras, Noses, New World Environments
4. Smelling Disease: Rosemary, Pomanders, Shut-in Households
5. Oiled in Ambergris: Ambergris, Gloves, London's Luxury Markets
6. Bowers of Bliss: Jasmine, Potpourri Vases, Pleasure Gardens
Conclusion: Ephemeral Remains
Notes
Index

About the Author

Holly Dugan is an assistant professor of English literature at the George Washington University.

Reviews

An extraordinary and thoughtfully presented addition to British history shelves, covering an almost universally overlooked topic. Midwest Book Review Full of surprising, colourful detail, The Ephemeral History of Perfume sheds new light on Renaissance bodies, environments, and the relationships between them forged by various kinds of 'stinkinggere'. Times Literary Supplement This book is both a useful scholarly reference and a genuinely interesting read. -- Sally Pointer Journal of the Northern Renaissance The six chapters are like the gilt chambers of a pomander, each bearing a rich fragrance. -- Mark S. Dawson Parergon Dugan's book is as subtle and penetrating as the scents with which she structures her cultural, material, and literary history of perfume... The structure of the book is ingenious, sagacious even... It is a rich heady cloud of images and ideas, and will deservedly find a wide readership. -- Rowan Boyson Social History of Medicine Scholars of the early modern Europe should read this book. -- Nupur Chaudhuri The Coordinating Council for Women in History [Dugan's] book not only redresses the imbalance of sensory scholarship toward vision and hearing... but also further interrogates the significance of scent as a marker of early modern identity. After reading this book, it is difficult to understand how smell could have been neglected for so long. -- Jennifer Rae McDermont Journal of British Studies