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One of the most thorough guides to arsenic and its effects is the ponderous but very detailed study by A. W. Blythe, Poisons: their effects and detection (London, 1920). Blythe's description of the potency of arsenic in corpses after death is worth quotation.
A remarkable preservation of the body is commonly observed, when it does occur it may have great significance particularly when the body is placed in conditions in which it might be expected to decompose rapidly. In the celebrated continental case of the apothecary Speichert [1876] the body of Speichert's wife was exhumed eleven months after her death. The coffin stood partly in water, the corpse was mollified, the organs contained arsenic, the Church yard earth yielded no arsenic. R. Koch [the defence lawyer] was unable to explain the preservation of the body under these conditions in any other way than from the effect of arsenic, and this circumstance, with others, was an important element which led to the conviction of Speichert.
Finally, the legends of Mary Magdalene have appeared in many recent books, the most notable being The Da Vinci Code. According to local legends, Mary Magdalene and her associates landed near Marseilles and moved out into the countryside to found their own settlement, and around this story a rich and detailed folklore has emerged.