Devil in the White Lady

For the seventh straight year, and the fifth in person, the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame hosts a party that melds literary discussion, drink history, and just plain drink. Throughout the festivities, we will highlight Chicago literature and its strong association with the drinks we make and consume. This time around, we will use The Devil in the White City as the basis for our theme. A nonfiction book published in 2003, The Devil in the White is set during Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition and employs duel plotlines in which architect Daniel Burns and serial killer and Dr. Henry H. Holmes are at the center. In the Acknowledgements section of the book, author Erik Larson writes, "I must confess a shameful secret: I love Chicago best in the cold. ... Place has always been important to me, and one thing today's Chicago exudes, as it did in 1893, is a sense of place. I fell in love with the city, the people I encountered, and above all the lake and its moods, which shift so readily from season to season, day to day, even hour to hour." Mike Burke, Robert Charles and Rita Dragonette will again help host the evening, and mixologist Ryan Prindle will again be our bartender.