Milk of Paradise

'The only thing that is good is poppies. They are gold.'

Poppy tears, opium, heroin, fentanyl: humankind has been in thrall to the 'Milk of Paradise' for millennia. The latex of papaver somniferum is a bringer of sleep, of pleasurable lethargy, of relief from pain - and hugely addictive. A commodity without rival, it is renewable, easy to extract, transport and refine, and subject to an insatiable global demand.

No other substance in the world is as simple to produce or as profitable. It is the basis of a gargantuan industry built upon a shady underworld, but ultimately it is a farm-gate material that lives many lives before it reaches the branded blister packet, the intravenous drip or the scorched and filthy spoon. Many of us will end our lives dependent on it.

In Milk of Paradise, acclaimed cultural historian Lucy Inglis takes readers on an epic journey from ancient Mesopotamia to modern America and Afghanistan, from Sanskrit to pop, from poppy tears to smack, from morphine to today's synthetic opiates. It is a tale of addiction, trade, crime, sex, war, literature, medicine and, above all, money. And, as this ambitious, wide-ranging and compelling account vividly shows, the history of opium is our history and it speaks to us of who we are.

About the Author

Lucy Inglis is a historian and novelist, a speaker, and occasionally a television presenter and voice in the radio. She is the creator of the award-winning Georgian London blog and her book of the same name, was shortlisted for the History Today Longman Prize. She is also the author of two novels for young adults, including City of Halves, which was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Branford Boase award and Crow Mountain. She lives in London.