Conville & Walsh
literary agency
Tulipomania
The Story of the World's Most Coveted Flower & the Extraordinary Passions It Aroused
- Author: Mike Dash
- Category: Non-fiction Current Affairs / Politics
- Publisher: Phoenix
- Pub date: 10 August 2000
- Length: 320 pages
About Tulipomania
Gripping and amazing… a happy weight of detail
- THE GUARDIAN
Highly readable
- DAILY TELEGRAPH
Excellent
- INDEPENDENT
In 1630s’ Holland thousands of people, from the wealthiest merchants to the lowest street traders, were caught up in a frenzy of buying and selling. The object of the speculation was not oil or gold, but the tulip, a delicate and exotic bloom that had just arrived from the east. Over three years, rare tulip bulbs changed hands for sums that would have bought a house in Amsterdam: a single bulb could sell for more than £300,000 at today’s prices. Fortunes were made overnight, but then lost when, within a year, the market collapsed. Mike Dash recreates this bizarre episode in European history, separating myth from reality. He traces the hysterical boom and devastating bust, bringing to life a colourful cast of characters, and beautifully evoking Holland’s Golden Age.
About the Author
Mike Dash is a Cambridge-educated historian and the author of several books acclaimed for their combination of quality writing and detailed original research. His titles include the international bestsellers TULIPOMANIA and BATAVIA’S GRAVEYARD, and more recently THUG and THE FIRST FAMILY. Dash is currently at work on another history and contributes regularly to newspapers and magazines ranging from the Sunday Telegraph to Fortean Times.