Red

The mere mention of red hair or red-headedness conjures vivid associations. Stereotypes range from the fun-loving scatterbrain Lucille Ball to the largely mythologised Viking savage. There are the fiery-tempered shrews or penitent prostitutes (Mary Magdalene is almost always depicted as a redhead), and comic foils and long-suffering sidekicks, like Danny Partridge (The Partridge Family), Ron Weasley (Harry Potter), Jimmy Olsen (Superman), and Sideshow Bob (The Simpsons), to name a few.

Although the first use of the term 'redde-headed' can be traced as far back as the sixteenth century, the chromosome responsible for red hair was identified only as recently as 1995. For its first 50,000-year existence, red hair had always been viewed as an unaccountable mystery. As is often the case with the inexplicable, it has been hailed as a sign of divinity, damned as the consequence of breaking sexual taboos, ostracised and persecuted as a marker of religion or race, and vilified or celebrated as an indicator of character. Red: A Natural History of the Redhead is the first book to explore these prejudices and to trace the entire world history of red hair.

The book begins in pre-history, following the gene for red hair as it made its way out of Africa with the early human diaspora, emerging as an evolutionary advantage under Northern skies. It then explores red hair in the ancient world, from the Tarim mummies in China to the Islamic kingdom of the Khazars and their possible contribution to the Ashkenazi Jewish population. It examines the prejudice manifested against red hair across medieval Europe and red hair during the Renaissance as both an indicator of Jewishness during the Inquisition and, simultaneously, the height of fashion in Protestant England, made famous by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

As the book moves into the modern age of science, art, and literature, it presents the first positive symbols of red hair in children's characters such as Orphan Annie and Anne of Green Gables. It explores the emergence of red hair as shorthand for a woman of sexual boldness or an other-worldly nature. The narrative also touches on modern medicine and science, looking into the genetic and chemical decoding of red hair. Finally, it discusses red hair in contemporary culture, from advertising and exploitation to 'gingerism' and the new movement against bullying.