The gripping Victorian detective novel from the Costa Award-winner and twice BBC Radio 2 Book Club author.
London, 1863. A strange puzzle has reached Bridie Devine, the finest female detective of her age. To recover a stolen child, Bridie must enter the dark world of medical curiosities. The public love a spectacle, and this child may well prove the most remarkable spectacle London has ever seen.
Things in Jars is a Victorian novel unlike any other, one that explores what it is to be human in inhumane times.
About the Author
Jess Kidd was brought up in London as part of a large family from County Mayo. Her first novel, Himself, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2016 and she was the winner of the Costa Short Story Award in the same year. In 2017, Himself was shortlisted for the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award and longlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger. Her second novel, The Hoarder, was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award in association with Listowel Writers' Week'. Both books were BBC Radio 2 Book Club picks.
Industry Reviews
I loved Himself and The Hoarder but this book takes things to another level - thrilling, mysterious, twisted but more than anything, beautifully written and filled to bursting point with heart -- GRAHAM NORTON
Utterly mesmerising . . . A triumph. Kidd's imagination - her ability to imagine a world more magical, darker, richer than our own - is a thing of wonder. She rummages through the layers of Victorian society as if through an old steamer trunk, pulling up all variety of treasures, like pythons and heads in hatboxes * * New York Times Book Review * *
This unusual Victorian detective tale is hugely satisfying and beautifully written . . . Kidd gives the world what is instantly one of fiction's great spectral double acts * * The Times * *
Jess Kidd's stories are so magical, she should be a genre all to herself . . . Things in Jars is exquisite. Perfect storytelling -- JOANNA CANNON, author of THE TROUBLE WITH GOATS AND SHEEP
This pacy piece of Victorian crime fiction delivers chills galore . . . done with panache . . . Her imagination runs wild, in tightly controlled prose. Her concision makes the book feel like a high-pressure jar * * Guardian * *
A twisting, precis-defying plot . . . Arresting, funny and well-written * * Sunday Times * *
An extraordinary tale full of dark magic, wicked humour and hugely entertaining characters. An absolute treat! -- RUTH HOGAN, author of THE KEEPER OF LOST THINGS
Kidd writes prose that is full to the brim with life, and overflowing. Victorian London is rendered lavishly in all its stench and glory . . . Features the most endearing of heroines . . . Kidd excels at atmospheric description . . . Kidd's sentences contain so much delight in the language, whether conveying brutality or rescue and repair, that there are frequent jolts of pleasure for the reader . . . Revel in the rich, wild text * * Financial Times * *
A masterclass in storytelling. One of those books that truly does make you laugh out loud, that shakes and remakes what you think a story can be. It's rare to find a book so satisfying -- KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE
If there was an Oscar ceremony for books, then Kidd's Victorian mystery Things in Jars would surely sweep the board . . . Timeless . . . Knife-sharp * * Irish Times * *
