What is a hangover? How does it
feel to suffer from one? What can hangovers tell us about the way attitudes to
alcohol have developed over time? In the humanities, why have we neglected the subject of the hangover in our
critical discussions of alcohol and intoxication?

In the first comprehensive study of the hangover in literature and culture, Jonathon
Shears sets out to answer each of these questions by exploring the representation
of ‘the morning after’ in a wide variety of texts ranging from the Renaissance
to the present day. The book looks at what examples of ‘hangover literature’ from
writers such as Ben Jonson, Robert Burns, Charles Dickens, Kingsley Amis and A.L. Kennedy can add to our personal and cultural understanding of alcohol use. It
demonstrates that, more than just a cluster of physical symptoms, the hangover
is a complex interplay of sensations and emotions with a fascinating cultural
history.