Things in Jars

by Jess Kidd

She cannot recollect transparent partially clad men being a symptom of the consumption of Prudhoe’s Bronchial Balsam Blend. But the list is long and includes many adverse reactions, from sweating of the eyeballs to sensitivity to accordion music.

great wit.

Half-burnt in hearths and garroted in garrets.

great language!

Prudhoe also gives evidence at inquests, compiles broadsides, writes scathing letters to medical journals, and enjoys being written about scathingly in medical journals.

great character description

And the air is lit up visible and is beautiful—soot glitter, smoke dew, and the delicate mist of unborn raindrops shine above every Londoner.

Names from nursery nightmares are remembered and spoken again: Peg Powler, Jenny Greenteeth, Nelly Longarms. Creatures with wild waterweed hair and long sinewy arms; all the better for reaching out and dragging you into the depths.