Poison mysteries in history, romance and crime

"Poison mysteries in history, romance and crime" by C. J. S. Thompson is a historical account written in the early 20th century. It surveys the use, lore, detection, and criminal application of poisons across civilizations, blending toxicology with myth, superstition, and legal history. The work promises a sweep from ancient practices and antidotes to notorious poisoners and courtroom mysteries, appealing to readers of true crime and cultural history.

The opening of the book defines what constitutes a poison (including “slow” poisons) and traces their earliest uses in warfare and hunting, especially via poisoned weapons among diverse peoples. It details many examples: African Bushmen’s insect- and plant-based toxins, Acocanthera and strophanthus arrow poisons, Malay blowpipe darts and the upas tree, South American curare and “jambi,” ordeals with muavi, sassy bark, and the Calabar bean, and the authority of witch-doctors. It then surveys antiquity: mythic figures (Hecate, Medea, Circe), Egyptian and Hebrew knowledge, the Greek State Poison (hemlock) and the death of Socrates, Roman poisoners like Locusta, Persian tales, and practices in India, China, and Japan (including Chinese “gold leaf” suicides). Next it turns to ancient antidotes and regulations: early laws on poisons, mistaken post‑mortem “signs,” the quest for universal remedies (alexipharmics and theriacs), and famous compounds from Nicander, Mithridates, Philon, and Andromachus that later became the celebrated “Venice treacle,” made with public ceremony in cities like Venice, Cairo, and Bologna; it even notes a colonial American case where an enslaved man named Caesar was rewarded for a herbal antidote. The excerpt then begins a chapter on preventive materials once thought to detect or neutralize poison—Lemnian terra sigillata, the reputed “toadstone,” and the unicorn’s horn (narwhal tusk)—before the text breaks off. (This is an automatically generated summary.)