The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York

Norris served as New York’s first chief medical examiner from 1917 up until his death in 1935. The position was first created as an attempt to reform New York’s medical coroner system, which had been corrupted by the political machine of Tammany Hall. Whereas the prior coroners required no medical expertise to serve in their position, applicants for the new position of chief medical examiner were required to pass a test proving their medical knowledge. Though Norris received the second-highest examination score (out of three applicants), he was chosen by the Tammany Hall-friendly Mayor Hylan, who resented the new medical examiner system.

Throughout The Poisoner’s Handbook, Blum discusses Norris as a reformist-minded doctor who hoped to revolutionize the field of toxicology and the way that the police relied upon medical analysis in murders. Blum describes Norris as an individual with a boundless “reservoir of energy…[and] capacity for public service” (31). One of Norris’s first acts as chief medical examiner was to institute a new system of “organization” that would allow for the medical examiner’s office to be at the center of homicide cases throughout the city. Norris insisted that the police department immediately notify the medical examiners whenever investigating a possible murder. Throughout his career, he frequently fought with the mayor’s office to receive more funding so as to be able to implement a state-of-the-art chemistry lab, run by Alexander Gettler, that could provide detailed analysis of corpses. When the mayor’s office continually refused to provide Norris with the desired funding, he frequently used his own substantial family money (received through inheritance) to keep the lab running.

A narrative focus throughout the book is Norris’s crusade against Prohibition. In the years after Norris began his job, Prohibition gained increasing support throughout the United States, with temperance advocates arguing that liquor was a source of sin and needed to be outlawed. Norris, however, was a staunch critic of Prohibition, even before the law went into effect. As the country prepared for Prohibition’s enactment in January 1920, Norris and his medical examiner’s office noticed a stark uptick in individuals succumbing to methyl alcohol poisoning from drinking illegal moonshine. In December 1919, Norris held a press conference in which he offered his concerns over Prohibition, arguing that the law would fail to deter drinkers, who would only turn to “numerous harmful substitutes for whiskey” (49). As Prohibition continued, Norris’s position offered him a special insight into the number of deaths arising from alcohol poisoning. Norris remained openly critical of the law throughout his tenure, arguing in essays such as “Our Experiment in Extermination” that the United States was knowingly poisoning drinkers, with the poor often faring the worst.  

In addition to Norris, Gettler is one of the two protagonists of The Poisoner’s Handbook, as he occupies a central role in nearly every chapter of the book. Gettler was hired by Norris to serve as the medical examiner office’s forensic chemist in its newly created toxicology laboratory, which was to be the first of its kind in the United States. As a result, Gettler was essentially tasked with creating the field of forensic toxicology “from scratch”: “If a test didn’t exist, [Gettler] would invent it. If research methods didn’t exist, he would develop them himself” (37). Gettler was well-known for his “perfectionistic ideals” and his dedication to thoroughly examining every piece of evidence. Such a commitment helped Gettler in creating comprehensive examinations of nearly every poison he encountered, providing important studies into how such poisons affected the body. However, Blum also describes how Gettler’s seriousness with regards to his job often belied the thrill-seeking elements of his personality: “[Gettler] liked viciously competitive bowling […] and any and all horse races, as long as he could place a bet” (36).

As forensic toxicology was a relatively new field, Gettler often had to serve as a public advocate for forensic science, explaining how the field works and how he was able to discover the presence of poisons in a corpse. Each chapter of The Poisoner’s Handbook focuses on a different type of poison, investigating how Gettler’s research offered unique insight into homicide cases. For instance, Gettler undertook substantial research into carbon monoxide to comprehensively understand how the gas impacts a human body—studying everything from the amount needed to kill an individual to how much of the gas remains in a corpse after death. Gettler’s discovery that corpses cease to absorb carbon monoxide helped to exonerate Francisco Travia in the investigation of Anna Fredericksen’s death. Gettler’s participation in the trials of such high-profile murder cases turned Gettler into a public figure, helping to establish forensic toxicology as a legitimate field. However, Blum also describes Gettler as haunted by doubts about his role in so many murder trials, often helping to provide the necessary evidence to send the accused to the electric chair. In an interview before his death, Gettler is quoted as saying: “I keep asking myself, have I done everything right?” (278).