Nature’s Toxic Gift

Abstract

In an intriguing and clever murder in The Liqueur Glass by Phyllis Bottome (1915), a wife poisons her husband with a chemical from a photography dark-room, adding it to his glass of sloe gin. The poison isn’t named, but of all the compounds used in developing black & white prints, cyanide is the most likely culprit. Mr Watkins dies within minutes because cyanide attacks his red blood cells, blocking a key enzyme from doing its life-giving job. Even though he is breathing, his cells can no longer use the oxygen and begin to die. His death is investigated, and various non-toxicological clues suggest to the doctor that poison was the culprit. We will look at the trail of hints cyanide leaves on its victims, and explore the natural and synthetic sources of the poison. Although cyanide will be forever associated with spies taking their secrets to the grave, we will examine the most common cause of cyanide poisoning forensic toxicologists encounter – toxic fumes in fires.