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Open Preview See a Problem? Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Preview — 'Jacob's Justice' by P. 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. 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. 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 , 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. He pushed Nowell aside and demanded that the story be his, So it is. 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.
Published November by p. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about 'Jacob's Justice' , please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. 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.
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.
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. Free Case Evaluation Call us at or fill out the form below to receive a free and confidential initial consultation. I also found the characters to be inconsistent. I received a free copy in exchange for an honest opinion. To fight for your rights and get you the Justice you deserve.
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.
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 s England. 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.
And while I appreciate a writer who recognizes that horses do need to be cared for, after a while it becomes dull reading. I also found the characters to be inconsistent. 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.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest opinion.
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 I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway, and after many months finally got around to reading it.
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. In , Jacobs was selected to serve a three-year term in Cyprus as the neutral presiding judge of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Cyprus , which was to be established following attempts to establish a constitution.
However, following a period of civil unrest on 21 and 22 December , the constitutional arrangements collapsed, and the court was never created. Jacobs was appointed to the bench of the High Court on 8 February Murphy, who was himself appointed to the High Court the following year, praised Jacobs for humanitarianism and his excellent legal scholarship.
He retired from the High Court on 6 April From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other uses, see Kenneth Jacobs disambiguation. Retrieved 4 June Archived from the original on 19 July Retrieved 24 December National Centre for Australian Studies. Archived from the original on 7 April