Finishing Prep Work
New Releases are More Than Writing
Hi, Everyone! My next novel--In Westminster's Halls--is now in pre-order and set for release on July 22 in ebook KindleUnlimited and paperback. It is a historical fiction treatment of the end of the British Slave Trade, as Jane Austen might have composed it in real life as part of Pride and Prejudice.
The last word for my consideration of how our beloved characters might have acted if real-life social issues present during Austen’s life (beyond the war) had been part of the lives of those living in Pride and Prejudice’s world was laid down on June 4, 2024. Since then, the volume has been undergoing editing, cover design, and formatting. By my calculation, that is five weeks at the moment of writing. By way of reference, I began the 118,000-word novel shortly after Thanksgiving.
I am not complaining because I think I have built an honest and authentic work that places Fitzwilliam Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet, and Thomas Bennet (as well as Jane Bennet, Charles Bingley and Richard Fitzwilliam) in the middle of the efforts to end the British slave trade in 1807.
In Westminster’s Halls explores the path to love taken by Darcy and Elizabeth (as well as Jane and Bingley) in the bright glare of Parliamentary politics forced upon both Darcy and Mr. Bennet because of the sudden deaths of their Members. Their votes and their voices were needed to end the trafficking of human souls.
Since I finished the first draft, there have been multiple proofread passes, beta reads (thanks to Carole Steinhardt!), hot reads, and not-so-hot reads. I am in that final review of the files that is foot-draggingly slow (why did I write it that way?). Oh, and Benjamin Fife has been up to his audio elbows as he performs the book. Expect the Audible release in August.
Final files must be uploaded by July 16, 2024.
Now, I am prepping the blog tour, which will run from July 22 through August 2.
For your edification, here is what I am sending out.
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In Westminster’s Halls
Book Release Data
Preorder on all Amazon platforms: Now through July 21, 2024
Global Release on all Amazon Platforms (e-book, KindleUnlimited, Paperback): July 22, 2024
Audible Release (Performed by Benjamin Fife): August
Temporary Cover
Book Blurb
With a narrative steeped in duplicity and conspiratorial intrigue, “In Westminster Halls” offers a unique speculative journey into the world of Jane Austen. This bold exploration delves into the existential issue of slavery. Set against the backdrop of Regency privilege, sexual nuance, and callous indifference, Jacobson's masterful storytelling will captivate you, leaving you yearning for more. It's a portrayal of Meryton’s beloved characters like you've never seen.
Robert W. Smith, award-winning author of A Long Way from Clare
Fighting for Freedom, Finding Love
In 1807, a dark stain marred British society. It wasn't Napoleon or the War. The slave trade divided Britons along economic and moral lines. In Westminster's Halls is atale that unites Longbourn, Pemberley, and Matlock in a mission to end the trafficking of human souls.
Powerful forces are determined to silence Bennet, while Wickham is sent to manipulate Darcy. Amidst mystery, danger, and politics, Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy navigate mutual prejudice and willful pride, striving for a future in a world where all are free. Their journey is a testament to love’s power.
In Westminster’s Halls seeks to fill Austen’s great silence on slavery. The book speculates, with a touch of audacity, how Austen’s beloved characters would have behaved if true-life events were part of Pride and Prejudice.
Book Links
Rafflecopter Link (Not live until July 22)
Don Jacobson is giving away ten e-books of In Westminster’s Halls. Enter the drawing for a no-charge copy at the link below.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9d1fdafb2/?
About Don Jacobson
Don Jacobson has written professionally for forty years, from news and features to advertising, television, and radio. His work has been nominated for Emmys and other awards. Earlier in life, he published five books, all nonfiction. In 2016, he released the first volume of The Bennet Wardrobe Series, The Keeper: Mary Bennet’s Extraordinary Journey. Since then, he completed the series by closing the circle with the eighth volume, The Grail: The Saving of Elizabeth Darcy. Standalone works include The Longbourn Quarantine, In Plain Sight, and The Sailor’s Rest. All his works are also available as audiobooks (Audible).
Jacobson holds an advanced degree in history with a specialization in European History after 1789. As a college instructor, he taught United States history, world history, the history of Western Civilization, and research writing. He is in his third career as an author and is a JASNA and Regency Fiction Writers member.
Besides thoroughly immersing himself in the Austenesque world, Jacobson enjoys cooking, dining out, fine wine, and well-aged scotch whiskey.
His other passion is cycling. He has ridden several “centuries” (hundred-mile days).
He is incredibly proud of having completed the AIDS Ride–Midwest (five hundred miles from Minneapolis to Chicago) and the Make-a-Wish Miracle Ride (three hundred miles from Traverse City to Brooklyn, both in Michigan). When not traveling, Jacobson lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, with his wife and co-author, Pam—a woman Miss Austen would have been hard-pressed to categorize.
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Blocking and tackling requires its own reward. Here is an excerpt from In Westminster’s Halls. Bennet and Darcy have been summoned to London by the Prime Minister, Lord Grenville, to assume the places of their Members who have died.
A NOTE: Major landowners like Bennet and Darcy also owned Parliamentary seats as they were usually associated with property. Bennet owned Meryton Village’s seat while Darcy owned the seat centered on the ruins of Kympton Abbey. This is Pre-Reform Act Great Britain. Bingley’s seat in Yorkshire (Hedon) was a rotten borough and vanished after the 1832 Act.
This excerpt is ©2024 by Donald P. Jacobson. Reproduction in any form is prohibited. Use to train Artificial Intelligence is prohibited. Published in the United States of America.
Chapter One
Longbourn, December 5, 1806
Black-edged packets were exceedingly inconvenient, especially for a man like Thomas Bennet. Their tiresomeness was multiplied by forcing Bennet to choose between re-reading Marcus Aurelius’s Commentaries and considering the message’s news.
By their very nature, mourning-shrouded letters insisted on immediate opening, contrary to Bennet’s normal inclination to avoid intelligence requiring him to abandon his library. He racked his brain as he flipped the missive in his hand. There was something familiar about the stationery; its thickness told of wealth and power.
He looked up at Hill. “An express rider delivered this?”
“Indeed, sir.”
“Is the messenger still here?”
“He is.”
“Please bring him here.”
The man’s well-tailored livery, gently dusted by miles in the saddle, told Bennet that any hopes he had to reply with a courteous letter of condolence had died like the letter's subject.
Bennet addressed the rider. “If I am not mistaken, you are of Lord Grenville’s household. What does the Prime Minister want from a lowly Hertfordshire gentleman?”
“O’ that, I canna say,” the courier said, “But, p’r’aps Mr. Clarkson’s will hae more for yer.” He reached into his tail pocket and extended another message: its edges pristine.
Accepting the second, Bennet laid the two side-by-side on the desktop. Much as he wished to allow his friend to prepare the ground for what was sure to be uncomfortable, Grenville’s letter, unfiltered by Clarkson’s explanations, would set the stage.
Cracking the seals embossed with Ricardian lions, Bennet spread the large post sheet flat, gently smoothing the creases to read astonishing news.[i]
By the direction of the Prime Minister
To: Mr. Thomas Bennet, Longbourn Estate, Meryton
Sir,
My Lord Grenville commands me to inform you that Your Member, Mr. Lyman Long, has died. Mr. Long was the victim of a Calamity arising from the Lord Mayor’s Guildhall dinner preparatory to convening the new session. According to many distinguished men, tainted seafood was the culprit. Over half the assembly was sickened, although the Parliamentary delegation, of which Mr. Long was but one, suffered the most. At last count, eleven members had perished.
The Prime Minister has received Royal Assent for immediate by-elections to fill the vacancies. Longbourn-Meryton Village is a borough with twenty-four, now twenty-three, electors, of which you are the most senior. It is, therefore, incumbent upon you to assemble your fellows within three days of receipt of this letter to ensure a speedy return of a new Member who will be in attendance when the Speaker calls to order the House of Commons on 13. December 1806.
Lord Grenville asks a personal favor of you—because of his knowledge of the crucial matters to be called before the Commons this session: you, Mr. Bennet, must stand for the Longbourn-Meryton Village seat. Mr. Clarkson has assured the Prime Minister that you are of a like mind concerning the great issue.
The rider will carry your reply to the Prime Minister’s office in Westminster.
I am most sincerely yours,
Thomas Annesley, MA
Secretary to the Prime Minister
A postscript put paid to any effort at demurral on Bennet’s part.
I do not doubt you would take comfort in our Lord’s plea to ‘let this cup pass from me.’ However, Clarkson assures me that you have been of a kindred spirit for twenty years. We need your vote, if not your voice. If, after we prevail, you desire to return to friendlier climes than those at Westminster Palace, you will leave with my heartfelt thanks. Grenville
Pulling a face at the premier’s adroit manipulation, Bennet was under no illusion that he had to go to town if only to ensure that the dream he had held since ’85 was not stillborn. His mouth still tasted ash at the memory of ’93’s great hope. Now, thirteen years later, slavery’s forces had retreated and could not appeal to the fear of jacquerie brought on by tampering with the status quo. That old saw, if not toothless, was dulled to uselessness, although, as Bennet knew, a blunted tool was more dangerous than a sharp one.
Tory and Whig alike knew Bonaparte was no revolutionary. However, even after Trafalgar, the Emperor remained an existential threat. Standing on the side of the angels by ending the trade could only honey bitter future tax levies needed for the war. Brighter—although more cynical—political minds grasped the virtue of rejecting the venal trade in favor of wrapping Albion in Virtue’s banner.
Clarkson reminded Longbourn’s master of his commitment.
Bennet, I am not dunning you for your delayed subscription—your annual contribution when no others would reply to my letters kept our campaigns alive over the years. I sometimes wonder if you sacrifice your ladies’ security to keep the glimmer of our hope alight. I cannot begrudge you anything. I understand that in your world, weather can spell the difference between surplus and retrenchment.
No, old friend, it is not money we need but rather you. I turned to Grenville to make my appeal. He is not asking you to join government but rather to sit on the back benches and occasionally utter ‘hear him.’
Come to us! We need you to push past the line. After eleven years, we now have a chance. October’s election brought in new men of the abolitionist stripe. I need your steadying hand to help these new men keep their resolve in the face of the forces arrayed against us. C
Bennet despised finding himself in a position where he had no choice but to act. A ‘request’ from the Prime Minister was one step removed from a royal command. Even if he could ignore that imperative, the knowledge that his friend had spent political capital to move Britain’s leader engaged every shred of Bennet’s honor.
He was bound for London.
However, a congenial amanuensis at his side would ease Bennet’s time in Gracechurch Street and Westminster.
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Pemberley, December 7, 1806
Darcy stared grimly at Grenville’s summons. Being the owner of the rotten borough of Kypmton Abbey, now nothing but a dozen moss-covered stones, was proving inconvenient. However, as much as he would wish to remain closeted in Derbyshire, nursing his private pain over Georgiana’s summertime fiasco in Ramsgate, he could not argue with the great man. Darcy’s civic responsibility called him to town. He could rest comfortably knowing that his sister was already at Selkirk Castle to celebrate the holidays—and hopefully regain some of her spirit—with their aunt and uncle. Darcy would enjoy seeing his family after burying himself in post-harvest work. Together, they would travel back to town after Twelfth Night.[ii]
Belay that! Wilberforce’s note froze his last thought with a complete picture of the altered terrain.
Unfortunately, we cannot wait for a fresh election to replace your Member. As the Prime Minister explained, he expects you to come to Westminster immediately. While your father always instructed the Member for Kympton Abbey to vote with the government, he allowed for a modicum of liberty regarding matters of conscience. However, in the case of the Great Cause, Mr. Twillings agreed with your revered father.
We must immediately advance the bill on abolishing the trade while the election’s enthusiasm remains undimmed. Otherwise, the demands of the war will overshadow all else, subordinating, perhaps for another decade, idealism for patriotism, whether genuine or cynical.
I have not been in your company since you were a lad up from Eton. I cannot pretend to know the contours of your sentiments. I pray that you will take up your father’s mantle. W[iii]
He leaned back in his chair and sipped from the crystal tumbler. A grimace curled his lips in metaphorical distaste. Darcy could not fault Wilberforce's concerns about his position on the institution. Throughout his years at Eton and Cambridge, slavery’s debate had swirled about Darcy. Some, like sugar scion Tom Bertram, defended the need for compulsory free labor and unfettered trade along the Middle Passage to replenish ranks depleted by disease and weariness. Others were agnostic on the subject, although finding little wrong in a practice that added carriages and candlesticks to their fathers’ estates and townhouses. They avoided speaking about it for fear of alienating those higher in society’s pecking order. Only a few emulated earlier Cambridge men and staunchly decried enslaving any of God’s children. Although Darcy knew his mind, he revealed nothing to the rest of the world. His mask was impenetrable. Those who encountered Darcy could be excused for assuming he was no different than other rich men’s sons.
Pemberley’s wealth stemmed from Derbyshire’s fertile flanks. Fitzwilliam often wondered why George Darcy had looked away from monumental Barbadian sugar profits. But, as a practical matter, the son knew ample money flowed from Pemberley’s fountain. Let others live their lives as they wished, feathering their nests without any judgment by him. To Fitzwilliam Darcy, managing Pemberley without worrying about the morality of what was legal in Modern England was enough.
Now, Wilberforce had sounded a clarion call, implicitly demanding he carry on his father’s legacy. For his part, occupied with maintaining the estate, Darcy had given the question little thought. Little else would pave the road to London.
[i] A Large Post sheet is 15.5 in. x 20 in.
[ii] ‘Rotten borough’ is the term used to describe a parliamentary seat with few qualifying electors. The seats in the Commons so designated were usually from the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries. The normal course of time saw the depopulation of old seats. In some cases, there were as few as three men qualified (usually landowners) to vote for members. One of the most famous beneficiaries of a pocket or rotten borough was William Pitt, the Younger who sat for Appleby (first established in 1295 CE). Appleby was controlled by James (later first Earl) Lowther.
[iii] William Wilberforce (1759-1833) was the leading voice of Great Britain’s abolition movement. He was a gifted speaker and served in Parliament for forty-five years, including four in one of my favorite constituencies, Kingston upon Hull (Please see The Sailor’s Rest). He, William Pitt the Younger, and William Grenville were close friends and formed the political nucleus of the abolition (first of the trade and then slavery itself) movement.
Nice article! I also liked the excerpt!
Thank you so much. There will be more coming including the cover reveal before the 22nd.