La Crosse County Library discussion

Unlike reported film and television adaptions for this book, we are following through and choosing this book for our July 2023 pick. This month pick is The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson.



It is a nonfiction book based around Chicago's World Fair in 1893 following two different men and their obsession with the fair. One man is behind orchestrating the entire fair and getting it off the ground, and the other is one of history's most nefarious serial killers (H.H. Holmes) who uses the lure of the World Fair to find victims in his murder house. The book is full of notable cameos such as Thomas Edison and many more.



Stay tuned for some discussion questions.

La Crosse County Library wrote: "Unlike reported film and television adaptions for this book, we are following through and choosing this book for our July 2023 pick. This month pick is The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, a..."

Here are some questions to consider about the novel:


Did you enjoy the book?

Who is your favorite cameo?

Do you think a Fair of that magnitude could be held today?

Do you think H.H. Holmes would have been able to get away with what he did in today's society?

Who would be your dream picks to direct and act in either a television or movie adaption?

I ended up really enjoying this book more than I thought I would. It was interesting to see the opposing POVs surrounding the fair as well.

It's always interesting to see how HH Holmes is adapted in different stories with his murder hotel. I think the story did a good job capturing how sadistic and evil he is without sugarcoating it too much.

Do I think a World Fair could be held today? Maybe, but it would probably need a different type of draw. Music festivals go incredibly strong with how big they are. I think the fair would have to be adapted to a more modern time since it could be an actual world fair with how much easier travel has gotten since the novel's setting.