I got my copy of Tales of Jack the Ripper today. I stopped by the mailbox on my way out to grab a fluffy coffee, and there was a giant padded envelope in it, and I was gleeful (what with recognizing the return address, and knowing what it was). So I took it along with me, thinking I would sit down with it over the aforementioned fluffy coffee[1] and read a little.
I ordered my coffee, and opened up the envelope, and discovered there was a small lump in it, in addition to the book. I was standing up against the serving counter to stay out of people’s way, so rather than step back to have room to peer down into the envelope, I just reached in and pulled it out.
I kind of wish I’d had a camera to catch the look on my own face.
The barista asked me what I was laughing at, and I managed a sort of quick explanation–really, “It’s a kidney, and that’s awesome because Jack the Ripper sent half a kidney to George Lusk” is about as much as you can go into without getting some really odd looks. (I am faintly disconcerted by how much more I can go into – that it was supposedly from Catherine Eddowes, that that was never proven, that yes there was evidence of Bright’s Disease but at the time that was a loosely applied term which covered many things including nephritis, that… ahem. Yes. As I was saying, I am faintly disconcerted by how much more I can go into, and by the fact that all that is really pretty superficial stuff.)
In any case. It’s a beautiful book – lovely art, elegant layout – and while I have only begun, I am going to say that I have heard nothing but good from the reviews, and what I have read has borne that out. Could do far far worse than looking at it, I am just saying.
(When I first sat down to read it, and be gleeful about it, the background music in the coffee shop was “Mack the Knife.” No kidding.)
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[1] A pumpkin fluffy coffee. Honestly, I go away for the weekend, and I come back, and everything is pumpkin-autumn-spice flavoured now. And coloured orange. Even the pet shop had three new kittens in, and they were all orange. And mewing adorably. I escaped after duly handing over the ransom of pettings.