Chocolate: How a New World Commodity Conquered Spanish Literature

"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