Jacob's Ladder

by P.D.R. Lindsay

JACOB’S JUSTICE

NEW EBOOK edition, rewritten and edited, plus new cover.

‘Jacob’s Justice’ grew out of reading the letters, diaries and reports written by ordinary people during the English Civil War in the 17thC. All those farmers, doctors, parsons, wives and children, like my hero, Jacob Emmerick, who were torn apart because an inflexible king and dogmatic MPs could not find a middle ground. Yes, there were good people struggling to be reasonable but where religion is concerned you get bigots as we can see all too clearly today.
Yet it wasn’t simply religion. Power was clearly part of it, as merchants and craftsmen, a rising middle class, like my Jacob's family, the Merchants Emmerick, wanted a say in parliament about the excessive taxes the King raised and his methods of doing so. King Charles I had been a younger brother thrown into kingship and he simply didn’t have it in him to be a good king. People still remembered Good Queen Bess and her long, mainly peaceful, and profitable rule. She never forgot her wealth and power came from the people and she knew how to choose advisors and counsellors. The Stuarts did not. King Charles, with a catholic wife, Jesuits openly at court, and the belief that he was appointed by God, lived away from his people, did not go on regular tours through his country, upsets the Scots and chose self-seeking advisors. Small wonder then, that as the age of reason or enlightenment approached with new ideas and philosophies taken up eagerly by the merchant and legal people, a parliament determined on governing and a king who insisted on his divine rights, that there would be a collision.
In 1642, as all this ferment was about to explode, there were a few months before the king declared war on his subjects where people could negotiate positions, get on the right side, obtain favours. To break the oath of allegiance to the king, which was repeated most Sundays in church, was a terrible, dishonourable thing to do. Yet families like my Merchant Emericks could see little choice. If they were to survive and prosper they needed a king who could keep the Dutch off their backs, restore the navy, and stop the crazy system of farming out taxes to his pals. Choosing the Parliamentary side, the side regarded as the obvious looser, for the king had the armies and trained men and Parliament did not, must have been difficult if you were not a hardened Puritan.
My characters and plot sprang from all this. I had intended to write about a man Cromwell called ‘his plain russet coated gentlemen’ but cocky Jacob wouldn’t let me. He pushed Nowell aside and demanded that the story be his, So it is.
LONG BLURB
It's 1642, and England is tearing itself apart. Twenty-six year-old lawyer Jacob Emerick, the youngest son of the Merchants Emerick, shipping owners and traders, is sent on a lawyer's mission to save the family's gold and ships—and perhaps tilt the tide of England's war. He leaves cosmopolitan London for the dubious charms of a Puritan town in Kent, where he must negotiate with loyalist lenders prepared to seize everything the family owns. Corrupt King Charles wants money, and loyalists to the King will do anything to help their despot.
On his journey Jacob finds the dead body of the lawyer with whom he was to work. It's clearly murder, and Jacob becomes the prime suspect. One more problem for Jacob to solve and the actions of loyalist Lady Fowke, as well as the attempts of bigoted Puritans to take control of the Emerick ships is proving difficult to stop.
Jacob must navigate his family's fortunes through the machinations of the Fowkes and their loyalist thugs who ravage and murder innocent Puritans at will and dodge the Puritans.
In a few short months Jacob sheds the easy bravado of privileged youth and become seriously involved in the problems that are taking England into civil war and threaten his family.

Genres: Historical Fiction

342 pages, Paperback

First published March 19, 2013

About the author

p.d.r. lindsay is a writer who loves the sea, and wide horizons, the greenness of coastal plains and the openness of moors, and high country tussock land, all the skin and bones of our lovely planet. She needs space. She hates cities where there are too many people crowded in ugly buildings, but loves the hearts of old cities with Mediaeval buildings, ancient walls, tiny streets. History is our past and our future.

Reviews

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The whole country’s gone mad. King Charles I wants one religion and all his subjects must follow it. He is threatening to forcibly modify the Anglican faith. Half his subjects are protesting. He also wants money but Parliament want to talk to him about his taxes. He’s refused to call Parliament for eleven years, and has tried to browbeat Parliament by force.

When a body has been found Jacob is accused of murder. He needs to use his wit and guile to not only prove his innocence, but solve the murder, deal with the twists and turns that arise, and all the while protecting his family name. There is plenty of action that keeps the pages turning.

This is an historical fiction mystery set in the period of time leading up to the English Civil War, and told from the perspective of the ordinary man, a point of view not used enough in historical fiction. I particularly liked that the language is true to the time period in England, and it is used in a natural way so characters sound right for the time. The characters develop as the story is told, but it is Jacob's character that undergoes the most change, and in such a way you feel a part of his growing.

This is certainly worth reading.

[P.D.R. Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I noted on reading the first version of your novel, you write very fluently and competently. I had no trouble at all reading on, indeed was eager to find out what happened – always the sign of an absorbing story.

What I particularly like about the book is that it stands alone, but offers the possibility that it might lead to a sequel – or more! Editors aren’t usually too keen on projected series, but crime books using the same detective in a run of books, whether contemporary or historical, have always been popular. And CJ Sansom’s series of sixteenth century thrillers feature the same hero throughout and have done extremely well.

Jacob is an engaging hero who grows in stature as the book progresses and he learns to think on this feet. I suspect many female readers will enjoy the prospect of a young man proving himself in troubled times. Unfolding the story through Jacob’s eyes also adds more of an element of suspense to the story as we, the readers, discover things and puzzle as to their meaning at the same time as Jacob rather than having knowledge that he doesn’t possess.

Hilary Johnson's Assessment Agency

[Darren Bourn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from the author and the fine folks at Voraciousreadersonly.com in return for an honest review.

This book is both exciting and tiresome, as the author is very verbose in her writing. Sometimes to the point of making the story hard to get back into.

I appreciate that this book is indicative of historical England (and the timeframe is 1642). Any reader of historical fiction will enjoy the detailed background to this novel I and will find herself immersed in the time period. The political situation is made clear, but also the reader is given a thorough and most enjoyable trip into the lives of ordinary people.

Unfortunately, as I found this author to be very descriptive in her writings almost to the point of trying to paint every detail, I did not finish the book on my first attempt. That being said, I am not going to debase either the author or the book and would give this book three stars out of five (which on my scale is a pass - neither good nor bad).

As with all my literary ramblings, this is just my five cents worth.

[AIA Reviewers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Both Interesting and Tiresome

This historical mystery tells the tale of Jacob Emerick, youngest son of and lawyer for a prominent, successful merchant family in 1640s England. Upon the death of a business partner, Jacob is sent to meet with the partner’s heir and secure a continuation of a loan the Emerick family has taken. On his way to meet the heir, Jacob discovers the business partner’s lawyer dead under a tree. The heir’s guardian wants to loan called and paid immediately, which would devastate Jacob’s family. Jacob is suspected by the local of having killed the lawyer. When the heir is also found murdered, things look dire indeed for Jacob. Through cunning and good sense, he discovers the actual murderers and saves his family from ruin.

Set in the period immediately preceding the English Civil War, the historical aspects of the story are fascinating. Caught between those loyal to King Charles I and those who favor John Pym and the Parliament, Jacob is a voice of reason, hoping for a middle ground that can stave off war.

The author clearly loves the era and has extensively researched the period. While this is a plus for the novel, the reader feels plunged into Jacob’s world, it’s also a minus as we are treated to scene after scene of people eating, complete with exhaustive list of what they ate, and scene after scene of people tending their horses in various stables. And while I appreciate a writer who recognizes that horses do need to be cared for, after a while it becomes dull reading.

This is a longish book, 343 pages, that sometimes flew by as I was captivated by the story and mystery, and sometimes dragged as characters seemed to tell each other things already in evidence, various “homey” scenes that did little to advance the plot or show us something new in Jacob’s character, or the aforementioned eating of oatcakes dripping with honey, etc. and the feeding and care of horses. I also found the characters to be inconsistent. Granted, the main character is in his early twenties, but for a man under suspicion of murder, he doesn’t seem to worry much that he might be hanged. I had trouble distinguishing his two friends from each other, and they also acted in ways that often made no sense. Several times Jacob lets the main villain either stagger off or get away, or fails to overcome him when it seems the obvious thing to do.

There are also a number of formatting issues, mostly missing spaces, extra spaces, missing commas and the like—not enough to ruin the reading, but enough to be annoying.

Overall, Jacob’s Ladder is an interesting book that will likely best please readers of plot-driven historical novels. 3.5 stars.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

AIA Reviewers

[Lina Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway, and after many months finally got around to reading it.

Set in the period immediately prior to the English Civil War, this book is a tale of a family of merchants whose future lies in a balance. Two murders, missing documents, and ample political unrest set the tone for this engaging and well-researched book.

The author does an immaculate job at setting the scene and creating a historically relevant plot. I found the prose far too linear and a tad dry, which made reading tedious at times, and also served for me to feel disconnected from the story. The small glimmers of the author's humor and wit throughout the story left me optimistic for future works. The book could have been much improved by more complexity of plot (as in the final scenes) and a more personable tone (as it was a first person narrative and sometimes read like a particularly dull journal entry).

The final third of the book was the most engaging, both due to increased tempo of action and the addition of more dialogue, which lindsay writes with ease and zest. I found the final twists in plot well thought out, especially when placed against the larger backdrop of the events in England.

Overall, a decent read.

*Keep in mind my own personal rating system, 2 stars is an average read which most would set at 3 stars.

[Brittany · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this book from the goodreads giveaways, I thought this book was odd and the story was a bit weird.