Clothing, music, hair styles—when people think of trends, these are often the first that come to mind. But methods of homicide can wax and wane in popularity, too. In 2013, The New Yorker published "Murder by Poison," in which the longtime staff writer Joan Acocella revisited what she refers to as the arsenic "craze" of the eighteen-hundreds. For much of that century, she notes, the substance was used in "a third of all criminal cases of poisoning"—it was, simply put, "a good way to get rid of your husband." Reviewing "The Inheritor's Powder," a book on the topic by Sandra Hempel, Acocella offers a thorough, entertaining look at the reasons for arsenic's ascendance, from its low cost and availability to the marital dynamics of the era. Some of the poisonings led to sensational trials, whose coverage in newspapers may have facilitated yet more crimes. "The articles probably inspired a few poisonings," Acocella writes. "Indeed, they more or less provided instructions." |
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