Overview

In terms of its popularity, as well as its production, chocolate was among the first foods to travel from the New World to Spain. Chocolate: How a New World Commodity Conquered Spanish Literature considers chocolate as an object of collective memory used to bridge the transatlantic gap through Spanish literary works of the early modern period, tracing the mention of chocolate from indigenous legends and early chronicles of the conquistadors to the theatre and literature of Spain. The book considers a variety of perspectives and material cultures, such as the pre-Colombian conception of chocolate, the commercial enterprise surrounding chocolate, and the darker side of chocolate's connections to witchcraft and sex. Encapsulating both historical and literary interests, Chocolate will appeal to anyone interested in the global history of chocolate.

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9781487503291

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Reviews

Chocolate is an intellectual treat: an adventurous journey through uncharted crossroads of political, economic, literary, and culinary histories, spanning four centuries of transatlantic exchanges, from pre-Colombian times and the early age of exploration, conquest, and colonization of the new world to the twilight of the Spanish empire. - David Castillo, Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, University at Buffalo From conquest chronicles and missionary accounts to the raging religious and medical debates of chocolate's value, to its many and varied appearances in early modern plays and other primary sources, Cowling's fascinating study provides ample evidence of chocolate as status symbol and the fervour that surrounded it throughout the early modern era. - Carolyn Nadeau, Byron S. Tucci Professor of Spanish, Illinois Wesleyan University Is it possible to capture delight and devastation, conquest and commerce, culture and cuisine, all in the history of one commodity? It is if the product in question is chocolate, and if your author is Erin Alice Cowling. This book is a must-read for scholars of early modern literature, colonialism, and the trans-Atlantic world; but also for anyone who loves chocolate - which is to say, everyone. - William Egginton, Decker Professor in the Humanities and Director of the Alexander Grass Humanities Institute, Johns Hopkins University

Is it possible to capture delight and devastation, conquest and commerce, culture and cuisine, all in the history of one commodity? It is if the product in question is chocolate, and if your author is Erin Alice Cowling. This book is a must-read for anyone who loves chocolate - which is to say, everyone. - William Egginton, Decker Professor in the Humanities and Director of the Alexander Grass Humanities Institute, Johns Hopkins University Chocolate is an intellectual treat: an adventurous journey through uncharted crossroads of political, economic, literary, and culinary histories, spanning four centuries of transatlantic exchanges, from pre-Colombian times and the early age of exploration, conquest, and colonization of the new world to the twilight of the Spanish empire. - David Castillo, Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, University at Buffalo From conquest chronicles and missionary accounts to the raging religious and medical debates of chocolate's value, to its many and varied appearances in early modern plays and other primary sources, Cowling's fascinating study provides ample evidence of chocolate as status symbol and the fervour that surrounded it throughout the early modern era. - Carolyn Nadeau, Byron S. Tucci Professor of Spanish, Illinois Wesleyan University

Is it possible to capture delight and devastation, conquest and commerce, culture and cuisine, all in the history of one commodity? It is if the product in question is chocolate, and if your author is Erin Alice Cowling. This book is a must-read for anyone who loves chocolate - which is to say, everyone. - William Egginton, Decker Professor in the Humanities and Director of the Alexander Grass Humanities Institute, Johns Hopkins University

Author Information

Erin Alice Cowling is an assistant professor of Spanish in the Department of Humanities at MacEwan University.

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