The Book
Opium, once used for ritual purposes, is a substance which dulls pain and offers access to an artificial world, and has long been idealised by artists and writers. Baudelaire, Picasso, and Dickens were all inspired to create by the blue clouds of smoke. Known as either a sacred drug or the worst of poisons, opium rapidly became popular in Great Britain and a source of commerce with Imperial China. This illustrated work presents the history and quasi-religious rites of opium’s use.
The Author
Donald Wigal teaches history, art, theology, and music at the University of Dayton, Ohio, and at Mary Rogers College, New York. Fascinated by the documentation of former centuries, he was one of the notable contributors on the history of art to the Academic American Encyclopedia, and has also written a number of biographies about historical personalities.
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