About the Book

Title: Presumption and Partiality

Author: Rebekah Jones

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction

Release Date: November 27, 2017

Among the cotton fields and farmland of Gilbert, Arizona in the early years of the Great Depression, Mr. and Mrs. Bailey live a simple, but happy life with their five daughters on a cotton farm. When the wealthy Richard Buchanan moves to town, bringing his family, a friend, and a desire to learn about cotton, Matilda Bailey is convinced that he is the perfect candidate to marry her eldest daughter, Alice.

Richard is cheerful, friendly, and likable. His friend Sidney Dennison doesn’t make such a good impression. Eloise Bailey decides he’s arrogant and self-conceited, but when Raymond Wolfe comes to town, accusing Sidney of dishonorable and treacherous conduct, Eloise is angered at the injustice of the situation.

When the Buchanan household leaves town, Alice must turn to the Lord and face, perhaps, her most difficult test in trust, while Eloise takes a trip to visit her friend and may well discover a web of deceit that she doesn’t really want to believe exists.

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About the Author

Rebekah Jones is first and foremost a follower of the Living God. She started writing as a little girl, seeking to glorify her King with her books and stories. Her goal is to write Bible-Centered, Christian Literature; books rich with interesting characters, intricate story lines, and always with the Word of God at the center. Besides writing, she is an avid reader, songwriter, pianist, singer, artist, and history student. She also loves children. She lives with her family in the Southwestern desert.

Guest Post from Rebekah Jones

Why is he a Navajo?

I’ve had more than one person ask me why I chose to make Sidney Dennison, the “Mr. Darcy” of my novel Presumption and Partiality, a Navajo Indian.

When I commenced planning and research for placing a retelling of Pride and Prejudice in the 1930’s United States, I found myself drawn to the desert of Arizona rather early on. Specifically, the tiny farm town of Gilbert. I knew, however, that few rich people lived in that area; certainly not enough to create social rifts large enough to recreate the social differences of the original novel.

I experimented in my head with a few different ideas, but the idea of Sidney as a Native American came to me one day and just clicked. I knew that I couldn’t fully pull off a Navajo who lived on the reservations. As much as I researched, I couldn’t quite get the feel. Yet, a man whose ancestry included a white man as a grandfather, who lived outside the reservations, though with relatives who clung to some of the old traditions, I thought I could do.

I used to wish I were an Indian, in part because I wanted to have great tracking skills, live in a tee-pee, possess superb bow and arrow abilities, and I wanted to ride a horse. True, most of that did not enter a 1930’s novel, despite my Navajo cowboy, because the eras are different. Though, Sidney did get a horse. Or technically, several.

Further, something about the silent, good-looking Indian appealed to me, much as I tend to shy away from writing about handsome and beautiful people, since they feel so common in fiction. The minute I began imagining the man with his Navajo ancestry, he just felt perfect.

By the end, Sidney turned out to be one of my favorite characters. (I can’t ever pick just one in my novels.) I think I made a good choice and I hope my readers will agree!

It was very fascinating  reading how hard it was for people during the early 1930s. It was hard to rely on cotton and other crops to help keep families fed. Oh how it must have been heart breaking for families to work so hard in the fields hoping their crops would get them hard times. The Bailey's seemed to have a good life and the mother was very interested in getting her daughters married off to wealthy men. 

I was a bit upset to hear how unattractive Eloise is. For some in the story looks seems to be very important and I cringed when Eloise was criticized for her looks. I really liked Eloise and found her to be very compassionate. How many of us judge people by their looks? Mrs. Bailey is quite a character. She is such a worrywart but her main focus is getting her daughters married off. 

Richard has come from a good background and I liked it when he became aware of the poverty surrounding him. Sometimes we have blinders on when it comes to homeless people and those that are struggling.  The bible references in the story are wonderfully placed in places that bring clarity to the characters. The part about forgiveness was definitely a topic that Eloise and Sidney were at a crossroads about. I have come to like Sidney because he is honest and tries to live by scripture. There were a few things I didn't care for and want to mention them. The first was how many times I had to read about Mrs. Bailey's headaches. It was mentioned so many times, I wondered why she didn't have a doctor check her out. The other was the length of the book. I thought that maybe the author could have shortened it a bit and left some things out that wasn't important to the story. As with any review I write, I am honest but fair. Even though there were a few things I didn't care for about the story, doesn't take away the fact that overall it was entertaining.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

" Sometimes , we see what  want to see and we miss only what we would rather ignore."

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Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Rebekah is giving away a grand prize of the complete set of the Vintage Jane Austen Collection!!

Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/cc8f