Verity North

America's First True Crime Obsession: How a Press Empire Was Built on the Brutal Murder of Helen Jewett

America’s First

By Verity North

Long before algorithms and viral headlines, America’s true-crime obsession was taking shape in 1836 Manhattan. In this fast-paced narrative history, Verity North explores how the brutal murder of Helen Jewett helped build a press empire—and exposes the roots of a public fascination we still recognize today.

Drama Queen: King Louis XIV

By Verity North

Louis XIV didn’t just rule France—he staged it. In this royal biography, Verity North explores how the Sun King turned daily routines, fashion, architecture, and spectacle into instruments of power. From Versailles to war and aging, Drama Queen reveals how performance became government—and what that dazzling image-making cost the people around him.

America’s First Influencer: How Benjamin Franklin Made France Fall for a Revolution

America’s First

By Verity North

Benjamin Franklin didn’t just help shape a revolution—he knew how to sell it. Verity North explores how the printer, inventor, and diplomat turned folksy wisdom, media savvy, and a fur hat into a powerful personal brand. This narrative history reveals how Franklin used his carefully curated public image to help make France see America as a cause worth supporting.

America’s First Viral Disaster: The 1904 Olympic Marathon

America’s First

By Verity North

Thirty-two runners entered the 1904 Olympic marathon in St. Louis. What followed included choking dust, a car-assisted “winner,” wild dogs, and a champion dosed with strychnine. Fast, sharp, and darkly funny, this historical nonfiction novella uncovers a chaotic true story of dangerous experiments, public spectacle, and people willing to wreck themselves for applause.