Books

Genius of Guinness

When the first Arthur Guinness sunk his meagre savings into a small brewery on the banks of the River Liffey in Dublin he could not have foreseen the glittering dynasty of brewers and bankers that would carry on the family name. Catapulted to the peak of high society, the Irish family became a British institution, renowned for its lavish entertaining, luxurious stately homes, and philanthropy, but there was a heavy price to pay.

But Guinness also dealt in another kind of spirit, producing an extraordinary line of missionary explorers, clerics and social entrepreneurs. More famous in his day than his brewing cousins, teetotaller Henry Grattan Guinness forsook his earthly inheritance to preach the Gospel to thousands, sparking a religious revival which flickered on throughout the entire century.

His children and grandchildren had hair-raising adventures in unknown lands, risked death and disease, fearlessly confronted Western governments about the mistreatment of natives in their colonies. They introduced social and moral reforms to the poverty-stricken East End of London.

This extraordinary history spanning two hundred years and five generations of one of the most famous families in the world has all the drama and suspense of any fictional family saga.

Michele, with inside access to diaries, letters and personal recollections, tells the story of its ups and downs, from the inauspicious eighteenth century beginnings down to the present day.

The Genius of Guinness is a condensed and re-written version of The Guinness Spirit, which is now out-of-print.

*This book is no longer available from the publisher. If you wish to obtain a copy, please contact Michele directly.