The arsenic century : how victorian Britain was poisoned at home, work, and play / Prof James C. Whorton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Whorton, James C.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Arsenic.

Great Britain--History--Victoria, 1837-1901.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxi, 412 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2010.

Summary:

Arsenic is rightly infamous as the poison of choice for Victorian murderers. Yet the great majority of fatalities from arsenic in the nineteenth century came not from intentional poisoning, but from accident. Kept in many homes for the purpose of poisoning rats, the white powder was easily mistaken for sugar or flour and often incorporated into the family dinner. It was also widely present in green dyes, used to tint everything from candles and candies to curtains, wallpaper, and clothing (it was arsenic in old lace that was the danger). Whether at home amidst arsenical curtains and wallpapers

Contents:

Contents; List of Illustrations; 1. 'Such an Instrument of Death and Agony'; 2. 'A New Race of Poisoners'; 3. A New Breed of Detectives; 4. 'The Chief Terror of Poisoners'; 5. A Penn'orth of Poison; 6. 'Sugared Death'; 7. 'The Hue of Death, the Tint of the Grave'; 8. Walls of Death; 9. Physician-Assisted Poisoning; 10. 'A Very Wholesome Poison'; 11. Poison in the Factory and on the Farm; 12. 'Dangers that Lie Wait in the Pint-Pot'; Abbreviations; Notes; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [365]-403 and index.

ISBN:

1-282-38365-5

9786612383656

0-19-157344-2

OCLC:

536246931