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 baked the metropolis. An even more detestable force infested its very heart: the River Thames. Years of industrial effluents had transformed London's lifeblood into a foul-smelling mire. The stench was all-consuming, a miasma that clung to every cobblestone

The year the year of our Lord eight hundred and forty-five AD. A chill wind whistled across the Seine River, carrying with it the scent carrying salt and fear. The Norsemen were amongst us, a ravenous swarm of warriors seeking glory. Their longships, like serpents, sliced through the waters, their banners billowing in the wind. A city once proud no