THE THAMES RAN FOUL: A SUMMER OF FILTH, 1858

The city of London breathed 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 waste had transformed London's lifeblood into a foul-smelling mire. The stench was oppressive, a miasma that clung to every cobblestone and

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 were upon us, a horde swarm of warriors seeking glory. Their longships, like prowling predators, sliced through the waters, their flags billowing in the wind. A city once peaceful now trembled beneath the thr