Death in the air : the true story of a serial killer, the great London smog, and the strangling of a city / Kate Winkler Dawson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dawson, Kate Winkler, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christie, John Reginald Halliday.

Serial murderers--England--London--Case studies.

Serial murderers.

Smog--England--London--History--20th century.

Smog.

History.

London (England)--Social conditions--20th century.

London (England).

London (England)--Environmental conditions--20th century.

England--London.

Genre:

True crime stories.

Case studies.

Physical Description:

viii, 341 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Hachette Books, [2017]

Summary:

In winter 1952, London automobiles and thousands of coal-burning hearths belched particulate matter into the air. But the smog that descended on December 5th of 1952 was different; it was a type that held the city hostage for five long days. Mass transit ground to a halt, criminals roamed the streets, and 12,000 people died. That same month, there was another killer at large in London: John Reginald Christie, who murdered at least six women. In a braided narrative that draws on extensive interviews, never-before-published material, and archival research, Dawson captivatingly recounts the intersecting stories of the these two killers and their longstanding impact on modern history.

Contents:

Prologue

Pressure

Blackout

Restrained

Trapped

Bodies in the mist

Post-mortem

Smothered

Hearth and home

Squeezed

Buried

Illumination

Infamous

Legacy

Epilogue.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Athenaeum copy: Nichols fund bookplate.

ISBN:

9780316506861

0316506869