I’d been hearing about this since it came out, and had really been looking forward to reading it – but, having finished it, I really don’t understand the hype. For me, the two halves of the book really didn’t have anything to do with each other. I was very interested in the stuff on the fair (though I wished there had been a hell of a lot more pictures – such as some of the ones here, perhaps) – but there just wasn’t enough info on Holmes (understandably), and no actual connection between the two stories, other than a historic coincidence.
Was it just me, or was this book seriously overhyped?
I read it last week, after I picked it up on whim during a trip to Target for something else. I remembered a review here saying that it focused too much on the fair and not enough on Holmes, rather than any hype, but I decided to give it a try because I was in the mood to read something new.
The stories were only marginally connected, but I didn’t feel like this detracted from either of them. Switching from the White City to the Black City and back again kept me moving through chapter faster than I would have read either story on its own. To my surprise, I found the chapters about the fair more compelling than the chapters about Holmes.
I thought it was a very entertaining book and thought the behind-the-scenes detail on the World’s Fair was more interesting than the serial killer angle. I read it about the same time that I read Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid On Earth which also had a significant portion set at the same World’s Fair, so they’re kind of linked in my memory. Which is weird, if you’ve read Jimmy Corrigan.
It was kind of neat to read that Holmes is buried about two miles from my house (in an unmarked grave, of course).
Hype is always a weird thing, and it seems unfair to judge whether a book, or movie, or album, lived up to it. I enjoyed the book quite a bit and would recommend it.
I’m about 3/4 of the way through this book at the moment. I’m also finding the story of the fair more interesting than the story of Holmes as well. At around the midpoint of the book the Holmes thread sort of runs dry after he has finished setting up his hotel, while there are many fascinating characters involved in the story of the fair. Holmes is, quite frankly, a rather dull serial killer. For a man who was inspired by Jack the Ripper he certainly didn’t share Jack’s bloody flair. With the fair there’s always something new and interesting to read about the Ferris Wheel, or Buffalo Bill Cody, or Olmstead, or Burnham.
And then there’s Pendergast (whose story has yet to be completed at the point in the story where I am)…
I doubt the book would have been nearly as hyped or award-winning had Larson hadn’t pushed the whole White City/Black City dichotomy and only written about the Fair or about Holmes.
Yeah, I get the definite feeling that he did one of his asides – a la Buffalo Bill and Susan B. Anthony – on Holmes, and the editor decided it was worth its own thread through the book.
And the editor, from a marketing point of view, was right – I’m sure they sold a hell of a lot more copies based on the “America’s first serial killer” angle than they would have if it had just been on the Fair – but I think it would have been a better book if they had left it out, or hadn’t played it up so much.It fellt like a bait and switch to me, because there just wasn’t that much info on Holmes, for the reasons Larson explains in his “notes on sources” at the ends (the decision of the Philly courts not to allow testimony in the other cases, etc.).
sleepy2 – I was wondering if the cemetary was still there – I don’t know South Philly at all (other than how to get to Mara’s on Passayunk Ave., when I’m meeting my sister and BIL for pizza). Are you going to go look for his unmarked grave?
There are many books on the 1893 Fair and most of them are far more informative. But The Devil in the White City is simply better written than the mostly academic books that preceded it. That Holmes was able to prey off of women who came to the fair is interesting sociologically because it was about the first time in American history that women could travel unaccompanied by men. But I agree that the connection between the two events is loose at best. It was a marketing decision, and a very wise one.
I wouldn’t have read it if it hadn’t been for the Holmes/Mudgett story, but like others, I enjoyed the architectural and mechanical stuff more.
After reading Devil, I read Harold Schechter’s Holmes book, and I was wishing he had put more fair stuff in it. Strange how a book focusing on a serial killer could be so dry and unemotional.
I agree that they were basically two separate short books. The Holmes edge was clearly a commercial decision because more folks will buy a book about a serial killer than architects and landscapers (it’s the reason I bought the book, to be honest) but I agree, the Fair is more interesting.
Some trivia: Leonardo DiCaprio bought the movie rights. (He wants to play Holmes in a movie.)
Interesting–I had exactly the same reaction. I thought the stuff on Holmes was pretty poorly written: it was sensationalistic and unfairly pretending to get inside his mind. But the stuff on the fair was extremely interesting. I want to ride on a ferris wheel like that!
I’m not going to bother.
The cemetary is still there, in Upper Darby, not Philadelphia. Check maps.google. com and search “Macdade Blvd & Wycombe Ave, Upper Darby, PA”
Don’t know if this is spoiler-worthy, but since fiddlesticks hasn’t finished the book:
IIRC they dug at least two graves to throw off the curious, the graves are completeley unmarked, and they made no record of where the graves are.
I loved Schechter’s book! I think he has the flair for writing true crime tales down- in semi-novelist form while keeping close as possible to the facts.
To me, the best telling of the 1893 World’s Fair is found in City of the Century by Donald Miller, which tells the fascinating story of the growth of Chicago during the 19th century. However, I also greatly enjoyed Devil in the White City.
Neither mapquest nor google is recognizing “Wycombe Ave.” Oh well – doubt I’ll check it out anyway. (Speaking of cemetaries, would any Philly folks be interested in a Laurel Hill tour sometime?)
Sorry, I didn’t read the whole thread because I didn’t want any spoilers. I just started this book Saturday though and I’m loving it so far, both sides of it.
Also, Cecil did a column on Holmes once. You might not want to read it if you haven’t finished the book. I doubt it says anything you didn’t get from the book.
I also bought the book for the Holmes angle. I didn’t give a damn about the World’s Fair, really. I was surprised to be just as interested in the story of the Fair as in the blood and death, if not more interested.
I’ve read a lot of books on serial killers, but I’ve never read much about Holmes. I don’t know if maybe he was just an unexciting killer, or if the author just didn’t feel the same passion for his story as for the preparation for the Fair.
Not the best nonfiction I’ve ever read, but I still enjoyed it enough to recommend it to my mother, who probably cared even less than I did about the Fair.
I’m actually pretty offended by the whole “first American serial killer” claim, as it shows very sloppy research. I hate it when authors use false hype to get people interested in a topic.
Strange how a book focusing on a serial killer could be so dry and unemotional.
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