A love letter to wine, celebrating the 175th anniversary of The London Library A drinker's crown of sorrow is remembering wetter days The nineteenth century was considered a golden age of wine—exemplified by improved production techniques, better bottle making and the spread of the corkscrew. But it was also at this time that the temperance and teetotalism movements reached their heights: societies for studying inebriation began to be set up. No wonder, given that many nineteenth- (and twentieth-) century British prime ministers were habitually drunk. But Thomas Tylston Greg's loving address to the various kinds of wine was written not from a position of fear or of temperance, but from one of deep affection and intimate knowledge of the drinks he loved so much. Through a Glass Lightly: Confession of a Reluctant Water Drinker is part of "Found on the Shelves", published with The London Library. The books in this series have been chosen to give a fascinating insight into the treasures that can be found while browsing in The London Library. Now celebrating its 175th anniversary, with over seventeen miles of shelving and more than a million books, The London Library has become an unrivalled archive of the modes, manners and thoughts of each generation which has helped to form it.