The Devil in the White City is a dark and mysterious nonfiction novel written by Erik Larson about the 1893 Chicago World Fair. The stories of the fair are told from a narrative point of view observing various characters, each chapter transitioning among the various people. The plots of each story gradually unwind and all of the characters lives begin to mesh together throughout Larson's riveting portrayal of histories beautiful yet terrifying 1893 Chicago World Fair. The book takes place before, during, and after the fair and is divided into four parts. Part I and II consist of background information about the two main characters in the book; Daniel Burnham, the professional lead architect chosen to design and build the fair and Henry H. Holmes, one of America's first serial killers who opens a hotel near the fair to lure in victims to his welcoming death trap. Part III starts with the World Fairs opening days and ends with an action filled chapter titled "The Black City". This section of the book is filled with beautiful descriptions of the fair and gruesome descriptions of Holmes' executions and constant troubles with debt collectors, detectives, and worried families wondering where their daughters might of disappeared to. He is sly with his executions and gets by for most of it until Part IV. The last small section of the novel tells the tale of Holmes' last affairs and reveals jaw dropping details of all of the evidence found in his "Hotel of Hell." |