2022 was a relatively light year for new publications relating to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. New nonfiction works profile two titans of the Fair, while fictional novels offer readers murder, mysteries, magic, and miners. We also include a few late additions from 2021.
Note: We provide this announcement of new titles without any compensation from authors or publishers. We encourage shopping through independent local book dealers and online platforms that support them, such as IndieBound and Bookshop.org.
NONFICTION
George Westinghouse: Powering the World by William R. Huber. McFarland, 2022. 291 pages. Paperback, $39.95. ISBN 978-1476686929.
The “Battle of the Currents” (AC vs. DC electricity) brought George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison into a showdown to electrify the fairgrounds of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. That story occupied chapter 19 (“The White City”) of this new biography of Westinghouse, an inventor whose electric engines powered trains, air brakes stopped them, and other scientific contributions forever changed the world.
Louis Sullivan’s Idea by Tim Samuelson; edited and designed by Chris Ware. Alphawood Exhibitions, 2021. 384 pages. Hardcover, $45.00. ISBN 978-1517912796.
Renowned architect Louis H. Sullivan once stated that if he lived long enough, he would get to see all of his works destroyed, adding that “Only the idea is the important thing.” Historian Tim Samuelson trace Sullivan’s ground-breaking ideas through his career, including an important stop to showcase his designs for the Transportation Building at the Columbian Exposition. This beautifully designed book contains 300 color plates, an abundance of rare photographs, facsimile documents, and drawings from Sullivan’s oeuvre.
FICTION
Peril at the Exposition: A Mystery by Nev March. Minotaur Books, 2022. 352 pages. Hardcover, $27.99. ISBN 978-1250855039.
In this second volume in the Captain Jim and Lady Diana Mysteries, award-winning author Nev March takes readers to the 1893 World’s Fair. Everyone is talking about the preparations for the Fair in Chicago: the grandeur, the speculation, the trickery. Captain Jim Agnihotri will experience it first-hand: he’s being sent to Chicago to investigate the murder of a man named Thomas Grewe. As Jim probes the underbelly of Chicago’s docks, warehouses, and taverns, he discovers deep social unrest and some deadly ambitions. When Jim goes missing, his new wife Diana Framji must venture to Chicago’s treacherous streets to learn what happened. But who can she trust, when a single misstep could mean disaster?
The Past Lives of Deborah O’Hara: Mystery at the Columbian Exposition by Deborah L. Duncan and Cara Carter Gubrud. Illustrated by Rebecca Wheeler. Independently published, 2022. 250 pages. Paperback, $14.99. ISBN 979-8355059972.
This third book in a Deborah O’Hara series takes readers to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. During her adventures on the fairgrounds, Deborah connects with her past as she tracks killer H. H. Holmes.
Will Do Magic for Small Change by Andrea Hairston. Tordotcom, 2022. 464 Pages. Hardcover, $27.99. ISBN 978-1250808738.
Cinnamon Jones receives from her brother a tale of a Dahomean warrior woman and an alien from another dimension who perform at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Andrea Hairston’s historical fantasy presents a tale of alien science and earthbound magic and the secrets families keep from each other.
Bride of the Rockies (Queen of the Rockies, Book 5) by Angela Breidenbach. Gems Books, 2021. 156 pages. Paperback, $8.99. ISBN 978-1631635397.
This historical Christian romance novel focuses on two people attending the 1893 World’s Fair. Luke manages the Montana exhibit in the Mines and Mining Building, but also hopes to find a wife during his stay in Chicago. For botanist Bettina Gilbert, mining is an offense against God’s green earth, and she keeps disrupting his mining presentations.