Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City

In 1952, London was hit by a severe smog that caused 12,000 deaths and halted mass transit. At the same time, John Reginald Christie murdered at least seven women in his flat. The smog was slow to be implicated, but the media and a crusading Member of Parliament launched a fight that led to the Clean Air Act of 1956. Kate Winkler Dawson's book recounts the intersecting stories of these two killers and their crimes.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 13 December 2018
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

London in 1952 was a city still reeling from the devastating effects of World War II. Rationing was still in place, crime rates were high, and unemployment was rampant. The national economy was in shambles, and the British government was selling its clean-burning coal to America in an effort to repay its massive war debt.

As the winter months approached, the air became increasingly polluted with particulate matter from buses, trucks, and automobiles, as well as thousands of coal-burning hearths. However, on December 5th, 1952, a smog descended on London that was unlike any other. This smog was a sulfurous type that held the city hostage for five long days, causing mass transit to grind to a halt, criminals to roam the streets, and over 12,000 people to die, many of them elderly or ill.

The Great Smog of 1952 remains one of the greatest environmental disasters of all time. In addition to the smog, another killer was on the loose in London that same December. John Reginald Christie murdered at least seven women in his flat in Notting Hill. He lured them to his home with the promise of a home remedy for bronchitis, then instructed them to inhale carbon-monoxide-laden coal gas until they passed out. He then raped and strangled them, burying two in the garden, stashing several more in a papered-over kitchen alcove, and his wife of 34 years beneath the floorboards of their parlor.

The arrest of Christie, known as the Beast of Rillington Place, caused a media frenzy. Furthermore, his role in sending an innocent man to the gallows was the impetus for the abolition of the death penalty in the UK. The smog, meanwhile, took its time to be implicated. The British government did everything in its power to disavow any connection between the death rate and the air quality, blaming the sudden spike in deaths on other factors such as influenza.

It wasn't until the 1960s that the true impact of the smog on public health was recognized, and measures were taken to reduce air pollution. The Clean Air Act of 1956 was a significant step in this direction, and the UK has since made significant progress in reducing air pollution and improving air quality.

The Great Smog of 1952 serves as a stark reminder of the devastating effects of environmental pollution and the importance of taking action to protect our planet. It is a reminder that even seemingly small actions can have a significant impact on the health and well-being of our communities and that we must be responsible stewards of the environment.

Weight: 304g
Dimension: 135 x 203 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780316506830