The Jewel Cage
Page 45
The growing gap between rich and poor led to a fermenting mass of societal unrest intensified by decades of socialist and communist theory, by the increasing importance of unions, and by a workforce swelled by mass immigration after the Civil War. The Feminists—capitalized in that era, which is why Nell capitalizes the word—were agitating for votes for women. Urban politics were increasingly dominated by corrupt authoritarians, while the people the parties claimed to represent were burdened by exorbitantly long working hours, terrible conditions, and child labor. And all this was happening after a presidential election in 1876 marred by allegations of voter fraud. It was only settled in 1877 by a highly dubious political compromise that destroyed America’s fragile attempts at achieving some measure of racial equality.
Matters came to a head in Chicago at the end of July 1877. Thirty workers were killed at the Halsted Street viaduct during a fight between rioters and police that only ended when the cavalry arrived. The police, who minutes before had feared for their lives, turned on the mob in an exhibition of police brutality that restored “law and order” by intimidating and demoralizing the strikers. In the long run, the aftermath of the Great Strike strengthened the unions’ resolve and brought about the beginnings of pension and sickness benefits, while on the side of authority it prompted the modernization of the police and the creation of the National Guard.
If you’re seeing in my words some parallels with the fractured year 2020, you’re probably right. I can’t look into the future, but I always believe we can learn from history—and this particular slice of American history never seems to get the attention it deserves. As I’ve said before, in my opinion 1877: America’s Year of Living Violently by Michael Bellesiles is still the fastest route to getting a comprehensive picture of a pivotal moment.
The other facet of real-life history I couldn’t help bringing in was the great couturier Charles Frederick Worth, who dominated the emerging haute couture industry to an extent I’m not sure has ever quite been matched. He was the first designer to put his own label in his clothing and the first to create a brand so recognizable that it eclipsed the women for whom the dresses were made. He made the word “chic” fashionable. He was a true innovator, for example inventing a system to track which gown was made for which occasion so that no two women would turn up at an event in a gown of the same style and color. There’s not nearly enough written about him and I didn’t have the space to do him justice; if you’re interested, I recommend Worth by Diana de Marly as a starting point.
I haven’t entirely done with Nell and Martin, of course. How could I? But I’m glad I struggled through all the challenges to write The Jewel Cage, because before I wrote it I didn’t really feel ready to tackle Sarah’s story. I do now.
Acknowledgments
Author-publishers like myself are often dubbed “self-publishers”, but like many of my breed I find that term falls far short of the reality. I don’t write and publish my books by myself. I have a whole team of people without whom I couldn’t offer you a polished finished article, and behind all of us there is an entire industry of app developers, service providers, and distributors who make it possible to run our businesses in ways I couldn’t even have imagined when I started out with one book back in 2011.
My editor, Jenny Quinlan (historicaleditorial.blogspot.com), ensures that my manuscript is clean and consistent and invariably spots an anachronism or two along the way. My cover designer is Rachel Lawston (lawstondesign.com), whose considerable talents grace books of all kinds and who is an author herself. For my audiobooks I turn to Elizabeth Klett (elizabethklettaudio.com) who narrates with aplomb and produces crystal clear, flawless audio. These three professionals are remarkably easy to work with, and I have complete confidence in their advice.
At the earlier stages of the book’s development there have been advance readers, helping to make the story better by giving me their comments and advice on various drafts. My first readers were Sherri Gallagher and Maureen Lang, and as always their incisive observations were an immense help. Thank you, my writer friends.
Later in the process I recruited newsletter subscribers into my beta reading team, and what a team they were. I’m not an easy author to beta read for as my expectations of my beta readers are almost as high as my expectations for myself, but twelve wonderful readers stuck with me from beginning to end. Brandi Bartsma, Deena Nataf, Glenda Thompson, Hilarie Berzins, Jacomien Zwemstra, Jenna Matheson, Leslie McKinnon, Marta Tetzeli, Rebekah Witherspoon, Sharon Holt, and Shirley Stephens, you have my undying gratitude for all the hours you spent spotting my mistakes, analyzing my historical references, commenting on my Britishisms, and questioning my plot choices. The Jewel Cage is a much better book because of you.
If you noticed that I’ve only listed eleven names, you should probably be a beta reader. I’ve singled one out for a special thank-you. Kate Burgess was a member of the beta reading team, but she deserves a separate mention as a wonderful assistant on the reader services and publishing side of my business. Without Kate there probably wouldn’t be a newsletter and certainly no giveaways. Asking her to put in extra time as a beta reader was perhaps a little cheeky of me, but she rose to the challenge magnificently and is finding more and more ways to help me become a better publisher.
I would also like to thank Susan Kings, Leander Couldridge, and Helen Turner at Kings Accounting for saving me hours and hours and hours and hours of work that I would be very bad at and ensuring that all my numbers add up and my paperwork is filed correctly and on time.
About the Author
The most important fact you need to know about me is that I was (according to my mother, at least) named after Jane Eyre, which to this day remains one of my favorite books. I was clearly doomed to love all things Victorian, and ended up studying both English and French nineteenth-century writers in depth.
This was a pretty good grounding for launching myself into writing novels set in the nineteenth century. I was living in the small town of Libertyville, Illinois—part of the greater Chicago area—when I began writing the House of Closed Doors series, inspired by a photograph of the long-vanished County Poor Farm on Libertyville’s main street.
Now back in my native England, I have the good fortune to live in an idyllic ancient town close to the sea. This location has sparked a new series about an aristocratic family with more secrets than most: The Scott-De Quincy Mysteries.
I write for readers who want a series you can’t put down. I love to blend saga, mystery, adventure, and a touch of romance, set against the background of the real-life issues facing women in the late nineteenth century.
I am a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, the Historical Novel Society, Novelists, Inc., and the Society of Authors.
To find out more about my books, join my insider list at www.janesteen.com/insider
Published by Aspidistra Press
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Copyright © 2020 by Jane Steen
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Dedicated to Bob Steen,
My husband and best friend
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