Frederic Arnold Kummer (1873–1943)

This story reads like John Kendrick Bangs retold by Thorne Smith. A 19-teen-your old spoiled young thing is killed in a car accident and finds herself in a version of Hell very like New York City of the Jimmy Walker era. It even has prohibition, which the devil thought was a clever new torment., though as there are plenty of diabolic bootleggers it is not much of a torment. The young woman finds herself in the rundown district of East Gehenna with all her Irish immigrant ancestors but determines to work her way to a better part of Hell. She has a brief geometrical discussion with the Devil himself, who gives her a check and a recommendation to Ben Franklin. Franklin introduces her to his lightening rod and commissions her to interview some of Hell's better-known males for possible entries in a Who's Who in Hell. This gives her an excuse for cosy meetings with fellows from Noah on down.… (mehr)