'The Elizabeth Papers' Blog Tour ~ Excerpt & Giveaway!

Hello, Friends! As part of The Elizabeth Papers Blog Tour, it is my pleasure to bring to you an excerpt from Jenetta James' new book, The Elizabeth Papers. I loved Jenetta's first book, Suddenly Mrs. Darcy, and I'm looking forward to this one. I hope you enjoy the excerpt! Details for the giveaway are at the bottom of the post! 

From: Prologue

May 2, 1860

Pemberley

Galbraith,

     Thank you for agreeing to travel to Pemberley next week. I can only apologise that I shall not be able to see you in Town, but I think we both know it very likely I shall not leave here now. My purpose in writing to you before you travel is twofold. First, I believe that what I am about to ask may occasion considerable thought on your part, and I want you to be prepared when we meet. Second, I am increasingly anxious to communicate what is in my mind, to set it down and ensure that it is not misunderstood or put by the board. I am—and I do not wish to hear your protestations—not long for the world.

     We are old friends and you will do me the credit of trusting me when I say that I know my life is drawing to its close. I have been, as you know, greatly blessed.

     You, more than anyone, know my legal and financial affairs. You know the steps I have taken and the money I have spent in protecting my late, beloved Elizabeth and her family. As a result of the entail on the Longbourn estate, Elizabeth and her sisters effectively had no resources of their own and no relations upon whom they could rely. I, together with Bingley, have shouldered the burden of protecting them—financially and in other ways as well. There are men who, if they knew the full truth, would say I have been a fool. However, I regret nothing and would never have done less for her. This history, though, has provoked me to consider the position of our own family. Our daughters are all of them well married to men whom I respect. Their husbands can provide for them. They all had significant dowries, and I do not fear for them.

     However, I am also conscious that they are five sisters, and there may be many such daughters born to their descendants. We live in a world, Galbraith, where a woman has only that which fortune has given her. She cannot shift for herself as a man can, and I have come to fear that, in time and in future generations, the largesse I gave them may be diminished.

     For this reason, I have decided, before my death, to separate out part of the Darcy estate to fund a trust for the benefit of my female descendants in perpetuity. In other words, it is to be an entail in favour of the women in my family. It is in my mind to use the estate at Rosschapel for this purpose. You and I, alone in the world, understand the significance of that. I have considered, of course, the disadvantages to my son and his descendants of reducing the size and value of the overall Darcy estate. I have considered it, and I am decided.

     I trust that this has given you substance for thought, and I shall welcome you here with all the verve my health allows.

     Yours,
     Darcy

Book Blurb:

“It is settled between us already, that we are to be the happiest couple in the world,” said Elizabeth Bennet at the conclusion of Pride & Prejudice—but was it true? 

Charlie Haywood is a London-based private investigator who has made his own fortune—on his own terms. Charming, cynical, and promiscuous, he never expected to be attracted to Evie Pemberton, an independent-minded artist living with the aftermath of tragedy. But when he is hired to investigate her claims to a one hundred fifty-year-old trust belonging to the eminent Darcy family, he is captivated. 

Together they become entwined in a Regency tale of love, loss, and mystery tracing back to the grand estate of Pemberley, home to Evie’s nineteenth century ancestors, Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy. As if travelling back in time, another story unfolds within theirs. All was not as it seemed in the private lives of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, but how can they ever uncover the whole truth? 

How could they know that in 1817 Elizabeth Darcy began a secret journal? What started as an account of a blissful life came to reflect a growing unease. Was the Darcy marriage perfect, or was there betrayal and deception at its heart? 

Can Evie and Charlie unearth the truth in the letters of Fitzwilliam Darcy or within the walls of present-day Pemberley? What are the elusive “Elizabeth papers,” and why did Elizabeth herself want them destroyed? 

The Elizabeth Papers is a tale of romance and intrigue, spanning the Regency and modern eras, reminding us how the passions of the past may inspire those in the present.

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About the Author

Jenetta James is a mother, lawyer, writer, and taker-on of too much. She grew up in Cambridge and read history at Oxford University where she was a scholar and president of the Oxford University History Society. After graduating, she took to the law and now practises full-time as a barrister. Over the years, she has lived in France, Hungary, and Trinidad as well as her native England. Jenetta currently lives in London with her husband and children where she enjoys reading, laughing and playing with Lego. She is the author of Suddenly Mrs. Darcy which was published by Meryton Press in April 2015. The Elizabeth Papers is her second novel. 

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The Elizabeth Papers Blog Tour Schedule:

5/30: Guest Post & Giveaway at My Jane Austen Book Club 

5/31: Excerpt & Giveaway at Romance Novel Giveaways 

6/1: Review at Tomorrow is Another Day

6/1: Guest Post & Giveaway at Liz’s Reading Life 

6/2: Review at From Pemberley to Milton

6/3: Guest Post at Moonlight Reader 

6/4: Review at Babblings of a Bookworm

6/5: Review at Just Jane 1813

6/6: Guest Post & Giveaway at Austenesque Reviews 

6/7: Excerpt & Giveaway at So Little Time… 

6/8: Character Interview at More Agreeably Engaged 

6/9: Author Interview at Savvy Verse & Wit 

6/10: Review at Diary of an Eccentric 

6/10: Excerpt & Giveaway at Skipping Midnight 

6/11: Review at My Kids Led Me Back to Pride and Prejudice

6/12: Review at Margie’s Must Reads

6/13: Excerpt & Giveaway at Best Sellers and Best Stellars 

* * * GIVEAWAY * * *

It's giveaway time!! Meryton Press is doing a group giveaway! There are FOUR paperbacks and FOUR e-copies up for grabs, and EIGHT different people will win! Giveaway is open Internationally! To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter below and leave a comment.

• Only one copy of The Elizabeth Papers per winner.
• Winners picked randomly by Rafflecopter at the end of the Blog Tour.
• Open Internationally.
• Last day to enter the giveaway is June 18th, 2016.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Many thanks to Jakki at Leatherbound Reviews for organizing this blog tour, and Meryton Press for this generous giveaway! 

Wow! What did you think of that letter? It has me very intrigued!