Between 1903 and 1904, Fred Merrick White wrote a number of novels and short stories under the name "Fred M. White" including the six "Doom of London" science-fiction stories, in which various catastrophes beset London. These include The Four Days' Night, in which London is beset by a massive killer smog; The Dust of Death, in which diphtheria infects the city, spreading from refuse tips and sewers; and The Four White Days, in which a sudden and deep winter paralyses the city under snow and ice.