A RIVER RUNS PUTRID: A SUMMER OF FILTH, 1858

The city of London sweltered 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 discharges had transformed London's lifeblood into a nauseating odor. The stench was overwhelming, a miasma that clung to every cobblestone

The year eight hundred forty-five AD. A chill wind whistled across the Seine River, carrying with it the scent of salt and fear. The Norsemen had arrived, a stormy swarm of warriors seeking glory. Their longships, like prowling predators, sliced through the waters, their banners billowing in the wind. A city once confident now trembled beneath the