Description

London, 1863. Bridie Devine, the finest female detective of her age, is taking on her toughest case yet. Reeling from her last job and with her reputation in tatters, a remarkable puzzle has come her way. Christabel Berwick has been kidnapped. But Christabel is no ordinary child. She is not supposed to exist.

As Bridie fights to recover the stolen child she enters a world of fanatical anatomists, crooked surgeons and mercenary showmen. Anomalies are in fashion, curiosities are the thing, and fortunes are won and lost in the name of entertainment. The public love a spectacle and Christabel may well prove the most remarkable spectacle London has ever seen.

Things in Jars is an enchanting Victorian detective novel that explores what it is to be human in inhumane times.

Publisher Review

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 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 The murky grotesqueries of Victorian London. The misfits, miscreants and monsters. The tenderness found in the most unexpected of places. I savoured every page of Things in Jars -- CLAIRE McGLASSON, author of THE RAPTURE Things in Jars drew me in from the first sentence and held me, transfixed. Utterly beguiling and original, Jess Kidd writes so beautifully that every sentence was a delight. This novel deserves to soar -- HOLLY CAVE, author of THE MEMORY CHAMBER Kidd's effervescent novels overflow with sharp imagery. Here, she heads to London in 1863, where female detective Bridie Devine faces her most difficult case * * iNews, Best New Books for 2019 * * PRAISE FOR JESS KIDD: A very talented writer * * Sunday Times * * An arresting talent * * Daily Mail * * A writer with a poet's skill of balancing clarity and innovative flair * * Guardian * * Wonderfully entertaining * * The Times * * Kidd's writing is gorgeous * * Sunday Express * *