"As every amateur toxicologist knows, the difference between a poison and medicine is often simply the dose."

There is no weapon as insidious, as seductive or as mysterious as poison. In this terrifying account of history's silent assassin, discover the gripping tales of users, abusers and victims of these mysterious substances, from Cleopatra and Catherine de' Medici to contemporary secret service agents and terrorists.

Documenting royal scandal, political upheaval and personal tragedies, Poison details a gruesome thread that runs often undetected through human history.

Ben Hubbard is a non-fiction author who has written extensively on history and science, including the recently published Bloody History of Paris, Flashpoints in 20th Century History and Plantagenets.

Sophie Hannah is an internationally bestselling writer of psychological crime fiction, published in 49 languages. Since 2014, with the blessing of Agatha Christie's family and estate, Hannah has published three new Poirot novels, all Sunday Times bestsellers. In 2013, her novel The Carrier won the Crime Thriller of the Year Award at the Specsavers National Book Awards.