Teacher Guide

The Devil in the White City Lesson Plan

Introduction to The Devil in the White City

The Devil in the White City, published by Erik Larson in 2003, is a factual account of incidents that occurred in Chicago at the end of the 19th century. Larson weaves the story of the Chicago World’s Fair overseer, Daniel Burnham, and his planning and execution of the event, with that of H.H. Holmes, a cunning serial killer who preyed on young women during the same time frame. The book is both an historical account of a series of events and a philosophical journey in search of answers to the question of why, when life is so short, some people choose to fill their limited time doing good while others choose to walk the path of evil. It is both gruesome crime thriller and sociological...

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