Poisons in the ancient world, poisons in the Renaissance, poisons in the 19th century and the rise of forensics-I mean, there was literally never a dull moment. SA: At the risk of sounding hokey, every part of the research was fascinating. What was your favorite part of the book to research and/or write? Your passion for the subject comes through on every page. I find that I still ask myself: “Could that actually happen in real life?” I hope the book will appeal to science-oriented readers, history lovers, and to kids who love mysteries! I personally love knowing the “back story,” no matter what genre I’m reading. SA: I hope it will have what publishers call “crossover appeal,” which for me would be kids who think they prefer to read only fiction. LAT: And that linking of so many different topics is one of the biggest reasons I enjoyed reading it so much! Besides geeky nonfiction authors, what kind of readers do you think this book will appeal to? The history of poison just seemed like a perfect way to link so many things that intrigue me-mysteries, detective stories, human passion, alchemy, art, politics, social history, and the history of medicine. The idea of writing a book about poison occurred to me a few years ago, as I was researching my book, Why’d They Wear That? Associating poison with fashion may sound odd, but my interest was piqued as I learned more about how arsenic became wildly popular in the 19 th century-it was everywhere-at every apothecary shop, in arsenical green fabric, in paint pigments, even in edible arsenic complexion wafers (!).

Snow White, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Shakespeare-I wanted to know if those poisonings from literature were possible in real life, and if they were, I wanted to know what was going on at the molecular level of a person who’d been poisoned. SA: I’ve been fascinated with poison ever since I was a young kid, from the first fairy tales that were read to me, to stories that I read myself as I got older. The whole time I was reading it, though, I kept wondering… how did you first become interested in writing about poisons? LAT: You know how much I love your new book, POISON. LAT: Welcome, Sarah, and thanks for agreeing to answer my questions! Today, I’m excited to host Sarah for an interview with the author! Read on to learn more about how she wrote this particular book and much, much more… A few weeks ago, I reviewed POISON: DEADLY DEEDS, PERILOUS PROFESSIONS, AND MURDEROUS MEDICINES, by Sarah Albee.

Dog Days of History by Sarah Albee