Book description
In the 1600s, European travellers discovered Indian vegetarianism.
Western culture was changed forever…
When early travellers returned from India with news of the country's
vegetarians, they triggered a crisis in the European conscience. This
panoramic tale recounts the explosive results of an enduring cultural
exchange between East and West and tells of puritanical insurgents,
Hinduphiles, scientists and philosophers who embraced a radical agenda
of reform. These visionaries dissented from the entrenched custom of
meat-eating, and sought to overthrow a rapacious consumer society. Their
legacy is apparent even today.
'The Bloodless Revolution' is a grand history made up by interlocking
biographies of extraordinary figures, from the English Civil War to the
era of Romanticism and beyond. It is filled with stories of spectacular
adventure in India and subversive scientific controversies carved out in
a Europe at the dawn of the modern age. Accounts of Thomas Tryon's Hindu
vegetarian society in 17th-century London are echoed by later 'British
Brahmins' such as John Zephaniah Holwell, once Governor of Calcutta, who
concocted his own half-Hindu, half-Christian religion. Whilst Revolution
raged in France, East India Company men John Stewart and John Oswald
returned home armed to the teeth with the animal-friendly tenets of
Hinduism. Dr George Cheyne, situated at the heart of Enlightenment
medicine, brought scientific clout to the movement, converting some of
London's leading lights to his 'milk and seed' diet. From divergent
perspectives, Descartes, Rousseau, Voltaire and Shelley all questioned
whether it was right to eat meat. Society's foremost thinkers engaged in
the debate and their challenge to mainstream assumptions sowed the seeds
of modern ecological consciousness.
This stunning debut is a rich cornucopia of 17th- and 18th-century
travel, adventure, radical politics, literature and philosophy. Reaching
forward into the 20th-century with the vegetarian ideologies of Hitler
and Gandhi, it sheds surprising light on values still central to modern
society. 'Fascinatingly detailed, luxuriously appointed…elegantly
conceived, well written, combining proper scholarship with readability,
it is a genuinely revelatory contribution to the history of human
ideas.' Daily Telegraph
'Extraordinary…Stuart writes with flair and intelligence, and this debut
shows that he is destined to be a luminous presence in his literary
generation…He might even make some converts to vegetariansim itself.' A.
C. Grayling, Independent on Sunday
'This is intellectual history at its most scintillating, as passionate
and vibrant as any swashbuckling romp or perilous adventure.' Observer
'[A] massive and magnificently detailed history of radical
vegetarianism…a wonderful book, crammed with original research and
written with verve, wit and passion. The most enthralling work of
cultural history I have read in years.' Independent
'Clearly, a staggering amount of research and dedication has gone into
this book and its author displays an extraordinary breadth of knowledge
and didactic ability…this makes for fascinating and compelling reading.'
Sunday Times Tristram Stuart graduated from Cambridge in 1999 with a
double first in English, having won numerous academic prizes. Since then
he has been a freelance writer for numerous Indian newspapers, a
contributing editor/researcher on a book about Himalayan nomads, a
project manager in Kosovo and, most recently, a prominent critic of the
food industry. He has made regular contributions to television, radio
and newspaper debate on the social and environmental aspects of food.
'The Bloodless Revolution' is his first book.
