Fridged
A historical drabble
It was a snowy week in April, and the great statesman was dead.
His was the loss of the age! If one could but paint his mind...
Yet death comes for all. The story says he caught pneumonia after spending too long in the snow, preserving a chicken. The experiment succeeded excellently well - but at what cost?
In tribute, the Queen herself had small, brick-lined buildings raised (or rather, dug) on his discovery. Soon enough, every great house followed. What a legacy!
Ice houses have been built in the Middle East, where they are sometimes called yakhchāls, since ancient times.
Thanks for reading…
…and a big welcome to explorers old and new!
Today’s story is inspired by the death of Francis Bacon - not the 20th century painter, but the early modern statesman. Praised for his brilliant mind, he died of pneumonia in 1626… apparently after investigating how freezing temperatures might preserve bodies.
Today, we have a drabble that gives Bacon’s daft death a fictional legacy - fictional because most of the history here is incorrect. Sir Francis died in 1626, but the first ice house in Britain was commissioned in 1619 - and both events were during the reign of a king, not a queen.
But then, this is historical fiction, not historical fact. Yakhchāls, however, are as real and old as this story says.
Then there’s the other kind of fridging: something awful happens to a supporting character (usually the protagonist’s loved one); their tragedy then fuels the protagonist’s character arc. I tried to poke fun at this controversial writing trope - plus the old arrogance of pinching innovations from other cultures - in today’s drabble.
Still To Come
Feathers
Bees
Stars
KeysThe Land of Ice and Snow
Dragons
In the PinkFridgeSun and Moon
Buffet Lunch
Service
Socks
Death and Rebirth
Serenade
Basket
Ten of WandsPage of WandsKnight of WandsQueen of WandsKing of Wands
Next Time:
Our ninth double-post weekend
Copyright © E.A. Colquitt 2025.
No AI was knowingly used in the creation of this work. No portion of this work may be used for training AI without written permission from the author.