Hachette Books
Mentioned in
literature and commemorated in art, the infamous London peasouper
is a choking miasma composed of smoke and fog that has been a
striking feature of the city for centuries.
In December 1952, a
ridge of high pressure stalled over London. Cold fog blanketed the
city. The smoke from industry, millions of domestic fires and the
exhaust from vehicles merged with the fog until it became impossible
to see more than a few feet. Smog invaded homes and businesses,
theaters and cinemas. People began to die by the thousands. Those
with respiratory conditions found it hard – then impossible – to
breathe. Ambulances couldn’t find their way through the murk to
reach those in need. Public transport was curtailed. Drivers
abandoned their vehicles. Transport accidents increased and so did
crime, as criminals took advantage of the obscurity. Hospitals across
London became full to overflowing.
Not all the deaths
were caused by the smog. John Reginald Christie, a mild-looking and
somewhat creepy middle-aged man haunted the then-squalid Notting Hill
area of London in search of women to kill. When the so-called Beast
of 10 Rillington Place was eventually arrested six women, including
his own wife, had fallen victim to Christie.
When the fog lifted
after four days, the published death toll of four thousand shocked
the nation. The true total was known but hushed up for fifty years.
In all, twelve thousand people died from the effects of the
smog, yet the public of the time seemed more fascinated by the
murders at 10 Rillington Place.
In Death in the
Air, Kate Winkler Dawson draws upon archives, eyewitness and
anecdotal accounts of the peasouper and serial killer that paralyzed
a great city, to create an engrossing narrative about a largely
forgotten episode in history which nevertheless led to two
significant measures: The Clean Air Act, the first legislation in the
world designed to deal with atmospheric pollution, and the trial of
John Reginald Christie led to the eventual abolition of the death
penalty in Britain.
Rating: Four Sushi Rolls
Rating: Four Sushi Rolls
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