King of Poisons

For centuries arsenic’s image as a poison has been inextricably tied to images of foul play. In King of Poisons , John Parascandola examines the surprising history of this deadly element. From Gustave Flaubert to Dorothy Sayers, arsenic has long held a place in the literary realm as an instrument of murder and suicide. It was delightfully used as a source of comedy in the famous play Arsenic and Old Lace . But as Parascandola shows, arsenic has had a number of surprising real-world applications.