“Make no little
plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood”
--- Daniel Hudson Burnham
“I was born with the
devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the
poet can help the inspiration to sing”
---
H.H. Holmes
The 1889 Paris World Fair (‘The Exposition Universelle’)
shrewdly captured the attention of the Western nations. A one thousand feet
high phallic iron structure that was erected at the center of Paris Exposition
thought to be the symbol asserting the supremacy of French architecture and
culture. The giant tower was belovedly called after its designer – Alexander
Gustave Eiffel. The immense commercial success and cultural marvel of the Paris
Fair had deeply perturbed the American architects and engineers. America wanted to
surpass Paris’ overwhelming glory (put the entire Europe in its place) and that
too very sooner. In order to commemorate the 400th anniversary of
Christopher Columbus’ landing on the American mainland, plans were made to
design World’s Columbian Exposition. The Fair was held between 1 May and
October 30, 1893. And, to everyone’s surprise, Chicago – America’s 2nd
largest city – was chosen to exhibit the Fair; not the allegedly culturally
superior New York. At this time, Chicago was mired amidst cloud of self-doubt.
The windy city was burdened to shed its image of a black city, drenched in coal
smoke and stink of slaughterhouses (the huge meat-packing factories' 'assembly lines' of Chicago
actually provided inspiration for Henry Ford). The Americans wanted the
Columbian Exposition to be a grand expression of collective American thought.
In the decades following the Chicago Fair, it was addressed as an important
event in the country’s self-identification phase.
How Chicago conquered its inferiority complex through its
army of engineers, architects, artists and inventors, spearheaded by the
super-talented architect Daniel Hudson Burnham, contributes to the
distinguished history of White City. The prodigious material achievements of
humans, envisioned at the Chicago Fair, captured the imagination of millions of
people, including that of the charming devil named Herman Webster Mudgett. American
journalist and author Erik Larsson’s spectacular 2003 non-fiction book ‘The Devil
in the White City: Murder, Magic, and the Madness That Changed America’ tells
the ascent of Chicago Fair and the accomplishments of two polarizing individuals
of the city – D.H. Burnham and Mudgett aka H.H. Holmes (yes the name taken
after Conan Doyle’s release of 1st Sherlock Holmes book in 1887). As
Mr. Larson says in the prologue, “the book is about the evanescence of life,
and why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging the
impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrows”.
 |
| H H Holmes |
Erik Larson was best known for presenting non-fiction
material in a very engaging novelistic style. He turns history into a vast
canvas for portraying myriad of human stories. His wonderful gift for language
easily makes us connect with the predicament of the men and women of late 19th
century; not just through analytical observation but also by using strong
emotional perception. Apart from including rich invaluable historical details,
Devil in the White City tells a lot about the American politics, suppressed
labor unions, the perpetual clash between bankers and visionaries, and the
clash of geniuses. Edison demonstrated his first light bulb at the Chicago Fair
and the magic of electricity marveled the attendees. The public was introduced
to Ferris wheel (built to out-Eiffel Eiffel), zip fasteners, dishwashers,
shredded wheat, caramel-coated popcorn, Pabst Blue Ribbon, differently flavored
gums, etc. The author particularly excels when reciting the experiences of
famous personalities of the time at the Fair: Houdini, Scott Joplin, Buffalo
Bill, Archduke Ferdinand, Woodrow Wilson (28th US President), Susan
B Anthony (founder of National Woman Suffrage Association), Nikola Tesla, Mark
Twain, etc. Larson turns a simple trivia or infotainment into a fantastic
narrative. For example, his description of Elias Disney being a worker at the
Fair; he quips how Mr. Elias would have told lofty tales about the fair to his
youngest son Walt Disney (other interesting trivia or is how the Fair came to
serve as the inspiration for Oz by writer Frank L. Baum).
The crux of the book, however, rests upon the life story of Burnham and H.H.
Holmes. Burnham and his beloved partner John Root were one of the greatest minds of
the day. From erecting America’s foremost skyscrapers to creating the gorgeous
landscapes of the White City, Burnham had a penchant for achieving the
impossible. Larson elaborately sets up the tense atmosphere as the work to
build the Fair meets myriad of problems in all directions. Perhaps, Burnham’s
biggest among the impossible achievement is the army of powerful architects and
engineers he conjured to make the nation’s vision a reality. Frederick Olmstead
(celebrated landscape architect), George Ferris, and Louis Sullivan were the
prominent men among those who made the Fair a runaway success.
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| Sketch of Chicago's World Fair 1893 (pic source: Wikipedia) |
While Burnham planned the aesthetics of the Fair, Holmes was
building his own dream house, closer to it. The house that occupied an entire
block was actually called ‘Castle’ by the neighbors. Holmes was as much a
charming entrepreneur (‘handsome and blue-eyed’) like Burnham, although he had
different pleasures. The house was filled with soundproof and airtight rooms, trapdoors,
odd staircases, portable gas chambers, and a large customized kiln. During the
fair, he converted his castle into a hotel, focusing his blue-eyed gaze on
young, lonely women who were new to the city. The fair attracted thousands of
women fitting Holmes’ taste and he powered over more than handful of them. The
champion huckster wore a mask of politeness and sensitivity that made many
people voluntarily fall under his trap. The true dark secret of the
hotel/castle was unearthed only two years after the end of Fair (by the efforts of a
lone-wolf detective Frank Geyer; the Chicago police force didn’t have a clue about the serial murders).
Till then, Holmes enjoyed doing what he did best: killing. The most gruesome
detail about the murders is how Holmes sold many of his victims’ skeletons to
medical schools (the era when medical fraternity robbed the graves to study
human anatomy). Infamously known as America’s first modern day serial killer,
the number of people he killed varies between 20 and 200.
Larson brilliantly juxtaposes the hardships faced by Burnham
and the Fair with Holmes’ terrifying exploits. The author recreates couple of
scenario that lead to the murders of Holmes’ victims. The scenario is
impeccably patched together after delving into police and judicial reports. While
Larson cooks up interesting anecdotes and builds plenty of momentum in
detailing Holmes’ deeds, he never perceives the serial killer with a misplaced
sense of fascination. On hindsight, the book feels a little less on analytical
perception (as many of the facts and quotes are pieced together from different
sources and books, although Larson has taken great efforts to attain the
information). Furthermore, it’s inevitably affected by an imbalance in focusing
between the narratives of Burnham, Chicago Fair, and Holmes (if you are looking
for Holmes’ psychological profile it’s better to read Harold Schechter's 1994
book ‘Depraved’). Nevertheless, The
Devil in the White City (447 pages) provides a detailed and dazzling portrait
of America in the Gilded Age. It’s a highly ambitious work of narrative
non-fiction (with wholly factual details) that thrills and enchants us like a
popular fiction.
[Leonardo Di Caprio purchased the rights for the book in
2010 and Martin Scorsese was touted to direct the adaptation after finishing his
passion project ‘The Irishman’. Di Caprio may don the role of H.H. Holmes].
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