Absinthe Books at The Virtual Absinthe Museum: Pulp Fiction

Absinthe Books XVII - Pulp Fiction

Absinthe made repeated appearances in the more risqué American popular fiction of the 1940's and '50's. It seems to
have been available "under the counter" in - at least - Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. US-made absinthe
substitutes of indifferent quality were legally available, but genuine absinthe was likely smuggled in from Cuba, where
absinthe had never been banned, and where both locally made absinthe and Pernod Tarragona were obtainable.

In the pulp fiction of the day, absinthe served as a symbol of decadence and louche living, and was often mentioned
in the same context as marijuana and cocaine. See also Hal Polling's article in Battle Cry magazine.

Touchable - by Les Scott and Robert W. Tracey. Published in New York, 1951.
Small-town girl Ruth loses herself in The Inferno (the Big City) and lesbianism, prostitution, degradation,
absinthe, marijuana, coke and heroin (here known as The White Fairy) find her. A lurid example of the bestselling
author Les Scott’s over the top pre-softcore era portrayals of sex and drugs in post-WWII America. In late 1952,
another of his sex and drugs sagas would gain the attention of the Gathings Select House Committee
investigating literature it considered a danger to America.

Click on the Adobe icon to download and view the absinthe-related extracts from
Touchable, by Les Scott and Robert W.Tracey.

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