The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2003

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Part 3, Chapters 7-9

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 3: “In the White City”

Part 3, Chapter 7 Summary: “Nannie”

Anna Williams arrived in mid-June and was promptly charmed by Holmes. He took the sisters on a tour of Chicago, stopping at the Stock Yards to see the butchering chambers, and also at the fair. Holmes asked her to stay the rest of the summer.

Part 3, Chapter 8 Summary: “Vertigo”

Mrs. Ferris rode the wheel for the first official revolution, excitedly telegraphing her husband the news afterward. Several people were killed that day at the fair’s Ice Railway attraction.

Part 3, Chapter 9 Summary: “Heathen Wanted”

Back in California, Olmsted took the temperature of public opinion. Enthusiasm was on the rise, though there were issues. Olmsted wanted to engineer more spontaneous moments of magic in the park. Burnham was unmoved, and despite his rigorous control of the park, a small fire occurred in the Cold Storage Building.