Coca and the Victorians (Paperback)

Kim Embrey

ISBN 10: 3837679772 / ISBN 13: 9783837679779

Published by Transcript Verlag, 2026

About this Item

Paperback. The South American coca plant was established in 19th-century Britain as a medical product before it became a globally restricted drug. Drawing on botanical, economic, pharmaceutical, social, and political perspectives, Kim Embrey analyses how the use and perception of coca changed as it was transferred to Europe. In a process of "cultural dissimilation", coca was not simply adopted, but embedded into new medical, social, and scientific contexts. The study shows how a plant from the Andes was repositioned in British modernity. From its botanical origins to a global commodity - an interdisciplinary analysis of coca in 19th-century Britain. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9783837679779

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Coca and the Victorians (Paperback)
• Publisher: Transcript Verlag
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3837679772
• ISBN 13: 9783837679779
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

The South American coca plant was established in 19th-century Britain as a medical product before it became a globally restricted drug. Drawing on botanical, economic, pharmaceutical, social, and political perspectives, Kim Embrey analyses how the use and perception of coca changed as it was transferred to Europe. In a process of »cultural dissimilation«, coca was not simply adopted, but embedded into new medical, social, and scientific contexts. The study shows how a plant from the Andes was repositioned in British modernity.

About the Author

Kim Embrey, born in 1991, is a secondary school teacher of English, bilingual geography, and ethics in southern Germany. As a historian, she did her doctorate at Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main and is the secretary of the German Association for British Studies. She is an active member of several international academic societies, including the Royal Historical Society, the Britain and the World Society, and the Alcohol and Drugs History Society. Her research interests lie at the intersection of British sociocultural, scientific, and medical history.