…because damn do we like to put some dangerous stuff into our bodies and environments. Herman tackles a few different aspects of poisoning through the centuries here, with a focus on European royals. She starts with intentional poisonings — apparently people have been poisoning each other since time began. The ancients preferred using deadly plants (belladonna, foxglove, hemlock) while medieval and Victorian courts tended more towards heavy metals (arsenic, antimony, even gold). Poisonings were so rampant that possible targets relied on all sorts of methods […]
It’s really amazing that humanity has lasted as long as it has
The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul by Eleanor Herman