The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

• Genre: Nonfiction; historical; true crime
• Originally Published: 2003
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 1170L; college/adult
• Structure/Length: 4 parts, 53 chapters, prologue, and epilogue; approximately 447 pages; approximately 14 hours, 58 minutes on audio
• Central Concern: The Devil in the White City is a historical nonfiction work that weaves together two narratives set in Chicago during the late 19th century: the construction of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair; and the activities of H.H. Holmes, a man convicted of murder. The book explores the challenges faced by architects, including Daniel Burnham, in creating the magnificent fairgrounds; it also discusses the dark and sinister actions of Holmes.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Crime; violence; murder, including the murder of children; graphic details; mentions exploitation of marginalized groups; additionally, outside resources regarding the 1893 World’s Fair may discuss racism, prejudice, and discriminatory practices regarding the exposition’s management and exhibits.

Erik Larson, Author

• Bio: Born 1954; American journalist and author; studied Russian at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated summa cum laude; attended Columbia University for a graduate degree in journalism; attempted to publish fiction as he established a career in journalism; gained success as a writer of narrative historical nonfiction
• Other Works: In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin (2011); Dead Wake: The last Crossing of the Lusitania (2015); The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz (2020)
• Awards: Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime (2004)