Down Salem Way is Shortlisted For the Chaucer Prize

For those of you who don’t follow me on Facebook, you may not know that Down Salem Way has been shortlisted for the Chaucer Prize in Early Historical Fiction Pre-1750. I’m very excited. I know it’s a cliche to say that it’s an honor just to be nominated, but the truth really is that it’s an honor just to be nominated, especially since Down Salem Way is one of my favorite books (at least of the ones I’ve written!).

Where Does Story Inspiration Come From?

Thinking of Down Salem Way has made me a bit nostalgic for the days when I was writing it. I had just finished my Ph.D., and for the first time in three years, I finally had the time to focus on this story I had wanted to tell since finishing Her Loving Husband’s Return.

One of the challenges of writing Down Salem Way was showing the James Wentworth we know and love from the Loving Husband Trilogy while at the same time revealing what he was like as a much younger man. How much would you change between the ages of 30 and 300+? Quite a lot, I would imagine. James certainly changes in nearly three centuries.

We already know a bit about James’ life from the Loving Husband books. We know that James is his father’s assistant in the mercantile trade when they arrive in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691. We know how James meets Elizabeth, at a community gathering, and we know that Elizabeth is a farmer’s daughter. We also know that James never forgets his beloved wife. The memory of Lizzie keeps him going until he finds Sarah.

How Do Your Characters Grow?

As with any coming-of-age story, there has to be growth. The characters have to develop some new understanding along the way. In a sense, Down Salem Way is James’ coming-of-age story. Bildungsroman is a fancy-pants way of describing a story where the psychological and moral growth of the main character is a central theme.

Since Down Salem Way is a prequel, we don’t get the full impact of James’ psychological and moral growth until Her Dear & Loving Husband. Still, Down Salem Way acts as a stand-alone story, so you don’t need to read Her Dear & Loving Husband to appreciate Down Salem Way.

But even in Down Salem Way we can see the beginning traces of the man James Wentworth will become, the man we will grow to love as he continues his story through the Loving Husband Trilogy and into The Duchess of Idaho.    

Fans of the Loving Husband Trilogy know John Wentworth as a kind, loving father. In Down Salem Way we see John in his full glory as his merchant business thrives. Throughout the story, James is referred to as Mr. Wentworth the Younger. James recognizes that he doesn’t have an identity of his own because others see him only as John Wentworth’s son.

With Lizzie’s help, James realizes, perhaps for the first time, that he can live his life on his own terms. When the witch trials turn everything in Salem into madness, we watch James struggle with this new reality and we understand his angst.

For most of history, women were expected to be seen and not heard. You can argue that’s still true to an extent, but I’d much rather be a woman today than at any other time in history. In Salem, under Puritan rule, women couldn’t speak for themselves.

When a woman claimed to be attacked by someone’s shape, a man had to file the complaint on her behalf. Women had no legal rights, and every aspect of their lives was determined by men. There are times in Down Salem Way when James puts his foot down as the head of his small family. Though Lizzie bristles, she gives in, which would have been expected of a 17th-century goodwife.

Outlander author Diana Gabaldon said (and I’m paraphrasing here) that historical novelists are afraid to write about the truth of the past because that truth often doesn’t fit with our current way of thinking. But if we’re going to write historical fiction then we must be honest about the time we’re writing about.

Since James is the head of his family he can forbid Lizzie from attending the witch trials, which he does. The rum John Wentworth sells overseas is traded for human beings who are sold as slaves. Family members would accuse each other of witchcraft, even when those claims resulted in the accused languishing in prison or being hanged. It isn’t pretty, but that’s the way it was.

As a society, we’re still struggling with the same issues that have plagued us all along—false accusations and gender and race inequality being high on that list. The things James writes about in the 17th century are not the same things he writes about in the 21st century. But that’s what happens when you’ve lived more than 300 years as James has—you learn a little something along the way.

So who is James, also known as Mr. Wentworth the Younger? He’s a newly married young man finding his way in the world. He’s learning what he doesn’t want—working with his father in the mercantile business—and he’s learning what he does want—to return to university with his wife by his side.

He’s more insecure than the older James, but most of us are more insecure when we’re younger, aren’t we? The James Wentworth we know and love is found in his love for Elizabeth. His affection, his devotion, and his passion for his wife are limitless. In this dear and loving husband we find a love story that will transcend time.

As I continue with James’ story in And Shadows Will Fall, I’m looking forward to sharing this unexplored aspect of his life with everyone.