When it comes to many books, I'm late to the party. It's a hazard of having an ever-growing TBR and only so many hours in the day. But I do get to the ones I really want to read, which includes Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America. As a fan of some of Larson's other books, and having heard great things about this 2003 non-fiction account of the development of the 1893 World's Fair and H.H. Holmes' murder spree in Chicago, I knew this was going to be a good one, and I wasn't disappointed. Naturally, upon finishing the riveting tale, I was curious about the status of the book-to-screen adaptation, and here's the thing: as glad as I am that there are still plans to bring it to the screen, I really don't think it should be a movie.
As mentioned, the book covers two stories taking place at the same time, in the same place. It's as much about how the 1893 Chicago World's Fair (also known as the World's Columbian Exposition) came to be as it is about Holmes carrying out his murderous acts and various fraudulent activities. Before I get into why I really think TV–probably a limited series–is the way to go with this adaptation, let me break down the timeline highlights for this adaptation, because it's been literal years.
