The Devil In The White City

The Devil In The White City

Summary

'An irresistible page-turner that reads like the most compelling, sleep defying fiction' TIME OUT

One was an architect. The other a serial killer. This is the incredible story of these two men and their realization of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, and its amazing 'White City'; one of the wonders of the world.

The architect was Daniel H. Burnham, the driving force behind the White City, the massive, visionary landscape of white buildings set in a wonderland of canals and gardens.

The killer was H. H. Holmes, a handsome doctor with striking blue eyes. He used the attraction of the great fair - and his own devilish charms - to lure scores of young women to their deaths.

While Burnham overcame politics, infighting, personality clashes and Chicago's infamous weather to transform the swamps of Jackson Park into the greatest show on Earth, Holmes built his own edifice just west of the fairground. He called it the World's Fair Hotel.

In reality it was a torture palace, a gas chamber, a crematorium.

These two disparate but driven men are brought to life in this mesmerizing, murderous tale of the legendary Fair that transformed America and set it on course for the twentieth century . . .

Reviews

  • Fuses history and entertainment to give the dramatic effect of a novel...this truth really is stranger than fiction
    The New York Times

About the author

Erik Larson

Erik Larson is a prize-winning journalist and narrative historian. His books include Isaac's Storm, Thunderstruck and In the Garden of Beasts and have combined sales of nearly 6 million copies and been published in 14 countries. His No.1 bestseller The Devil in the White City won an Edgar Award and was shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Non-Fiction Award. He lives in Seattle.
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