THE THAMES RAN FOUL: A SUMMER OF FILTH, 1858

The city of London sweltered in the heat of summer, 1858. But it was not merely the sun that parched the metropolis. An even more unpleasant force infested its very heart: the River Thames. Years of industrial discharges had transformed London's lifeblood into a foul-smelling mire. The stench was all-consuming, a miasma that clung to every cobblest

The year eight hundred forty-five AD. A chill wind blasted across the Seine River, carrying with it the scent emanating from salt and fear. The Norsemen were upon us, a horde swarm of warriors seeking riches. Their longships, like prowling predators, sliced through the waters, their banners waving in the wind. A city once confident now trembled ben