Devil in the White City
The Devil in the White City
Erik Larsen
Random House, 2003
A great historical novel can bring to life people and events, sometimes based on thin information, sensational newspaper reports and other limited resources. Building those resources into a mental image of a person, long-since absent from public focus, can be a monumental challenge that many writers can't overcome.
I first noticed Devil in the White City on a visit to Chicago, almost a year ago at this point. Not really into murder mysteries (though they are growing on me--I am now reading the DaVinci Code), I decided not to purchase the book.
Fast forward ten months. I headed for a book store, deciding I needed a good book to read. I suppose I am so selective this is sometimes a challenge. I left the store with Devil in the White City.
The novel is set at the time of the 1893 World's Columbia Exposition in Chicago. Today, the concept of such an event is as odd as a perspective on a little-known individual who lived more than a century ago. Almost half the population of the United States visited the exposition. What events of our own time can compete? The Civil Rights March on Washington? Woodstock? No modern-day event can compare. On it's best day the fair drew 700,000 visitors--far outdoing Woodstock only considering that one day.
The World's Columbia Exposition was as far from Woodstock as the book's main characters, Architect Daniel Burnham and doctor and murderer H.H. Holmes. The exposition resulted in a majestic "white city" in the emerging economic powerhouse of Chicago, attracting the best and worst of humanity.
I had read much about the White City before, including All The World's A Fair and
City of the Century. One of the reasons I didn't buy this book earlier is because I figured there wasn't much more that could be said on this event that occurred so long ago. Maybe not, but there was more to be said about Daniel Burnham and other characters of the time that could be explored. Devil in the White City seemed to bring Burnham's personality and others alive better than any work I had read before.
Other characters whose names often surface when discussing urban issues also come alive, particularly Frederick Law Olmsted, John Root, and, to a lesser extent, Jane Addams.
Bringing alive these folks, about which history has recorded much, is not often accomplished with as much success as chronicling their accomplishments. Not only does Devil in the White City present a mental image of a human personality for these famous folks, but the murderous Dr. Holmes and those he associates with also come to life--and with his life, the death he brought to Chicago.
Attracted by the lights and wonder of the White City, many people went to Chicago never to be heard from again, some falling in with the sinister Dr. Holmes. The likes of such an event will probably never be seen again. A book that can present an exciting and accurate image of a different time and place, the people that time held, and their stories--including the tales of murder and mystery--doesn't come around too often. Another book of this caliber discussing the events of 1893 isn't likely to surface anytime too soon.
