Portland Public Library

The inheritor's powder, a tale of arsenic, murder, and the new forensic science, Sandra Hempel

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

index present

non fiction

The inheritor's powder

bibliography

853618599

Sandra Hempel

a tale of arsenic, murder, and the new forensic science

An epidemic swept Europe: arsenic poisoning, nicknamed "the inheritor's powder." It was difficult to prove that a victim had been poisoned, let alone to identify the contaminated food or drink since arsenic was tasteless. On the morning of November 2, 1833, the Bodle household sat down to their morning breakfast. That evening the family and their servants had collapsed and were seriously ill; wealthy George Bodle died. Hempel brings to life a gripping story of domestic infighting, wayward police behavior, a slice of Victorian history, stories of poisonings, and an unforgettable foray into the origins of forensic science