THE THAMES RAN FOUL: A SUMMER OF FILTH, 1858

The city of London breathed in the heat of summer, 1858. But it was not merely the sun that scorched the metropolis. An even more detestable force infested its very heart: the River Thames. Years of industrial waste had transformed London's lifeblood into a nauseating odor. The stench was overwhelming, a miasma that clung to every cobblestone and p

The year eight hundred forty-five AD. A chill wind blasted across the Seine River, carrying with it the scent carrying salt and fear. The Norsemen were upon us, a ravenous swarm of warriors seeking plunder. Their longships, like wolves, sliced through the waters, their flags fluttering in the wind. A city once peaceful now trembled beneath the shad