Red: A History of the Redhead - Hardcover

Harvey, Jacky Colliss

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 157912996X ISBN 13: 9781579129965

Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2015

Synopsis

Red is a brilliantly told, captivating history of red hair throughout the ages. A book that breaks new ground, dispels myths, and reinforces the special nature of being a redhead, with a look at multiple disciplines, including science, religion, politics, feminism and sexuality, literature, and art.
With an obsessive fascination that is as contagious as it is compelling, author Jacky Colliss Harvey (herself a redhead) begins her exploration of red hair in prehistory and traces the redhead gene as it made its way out of Africa with the early human diaspora to its emergence under Northern skies. She goes on to explore red hair in the ancient world; the prejudice manifested against red hair across medieval Europe; red hair during the Renaissance as both an indicator of Jewishness during the Inquisition and the height of fashion in Protestant England, under the reign of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I; the modern age of art and literature, and the first positive symbols of red hair in children's characters; modern medicine and science and the genetic and chemical decoding of red hair; and finally, red hair in contemporary culture, from advertising and exploitation to "gingerism"and the new movement against bullying.

About this title

From the Author:

New York Post 'This Week's Must-Reads'What did Mark Twain and Mary Magdalene have in common with the author of this book? Red hair. Harvey uses her hair color as a lens to explore the history of mankind. She starts by detailing how some stray red-hair genes in Africa made their way across the planet, turning up years later in the Nordic north. She explores ages when red hair enjoyed huge popularity, like under England's titian-haired Tudors Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, and debunks some common stereotypes, like those perpetuated by zany Lucille Ball and the temperamental Viking god Thor. A colorful take on human perceptions and beliefs.

About the Author:

Jacky Colliss Harvey is a writer and editor. She studied English at Cambridge University and art history at the Courtauld Institute. She has worked in museum publishing for the past 20 years and is a commentator and reviewer who speaks in both the U.K. and abroad on the arts and their relation to popular culture. Her red hair has also found her an alternative career as a life model and a film extra playing everything from a society lady in Atonement to a Parisian whore in Bel-Ami. She is the author of My Life As A Redhead: A Journal. She lives in London.

About this edition

• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 157912996X
• ISBN 13: 9781579129965
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240