{"product_id":"cinnamon-a-history-of-taste-and-empire-by-nira-wickramasinghe","title":"Cinnamon: A History of Taste and Empire by Nira Wickramasinghe","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDATE OF RELEASE: 5 NOV 2026\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe sweeping cultural history of a spice so coveted it launched empires across oceans, reshaped global trade, and bound generations of Sri Lankan peelers to colonial rule. For millennia, cinnamon has been treasured for its healing powers and warm, unmistakable aroma. But behind its familiar scent lies a tumultuous past steeped in conquest and rebellion.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn Cinnamon, acclaimed historian Nira Wickramasinghe traces the remarkable story of this ‘queen of spices’, from ancient Egyptian embalming tables and medieval Mughal kitchens to disastrous expeditions in search of mythical cinnamon lands in the Americas and the fierce imperial rivalries of the Portuguese, Dutch, and British. She reveals how global demand for ‘true’ cinnamon transformed Sri Lanka, where an entire caste of peelers, neither enslaved nor free, were compelled to harvest the bark under systems of semi-servitude, at times rising up in rebellion. Drawing on meticulously researched global history and mythology, Wickramasinghe brings to life the smugglers, merchants, cooks, botanists, conquerors, and peelers who built the cinnamon trade.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA vivid journey across centuries and continents, Cinnamon is the definitive portrait of a spice through which the turmoil and richness of our world come alive.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eHardback | Publication: 5 Nov 2026, Scribe\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781917189378\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 336 pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57867924341118,"sku":null,"price":22.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9781917189378.jpg?v=1787134592","url":"https:\/\/www.davids-bookshops.co.uk\/products\/cinnamon-a-history-of-taste-and-empire-by-nira-wickramasinghe","provider":"David's Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}