I have been working on a novel since April, and I can finally see the light at the end of this particular tunnel.

“If Not For the Entail” is my best composition yet, if you believe those who have read it through to the end. The plot revolves around Elizabeth Bennet’s efforts to save the family estate from a fraudulent ownership claim.

I sent the manuscript to the editor today, and I plan on publishing somewhere around the third week of October, so in place of an excerpt, I decided to give you the Amazon blurb, in the hope it might whet your appetite for the novel.

The image you see is a preliminary mockup of the cover. While it is not finished, the final cover should bear some resemblance to this image.

I hope you enjoy the following description:

Elizabeth Bennet struggles to protect and provide for her mother and sisters, a responsibility she inherited on Mr. Bennet’s unexpected passing.

His will left her with the responsibility of managing the Longbourn estate, which has suffered from two years of cool temperatures and an overabundance of moisture that affected the crops, from sprouting through to harvest.

The resulting reduction of rents from the tenant farmers has forced her to dismiss most of the estate’s servants. She spends many nights pondering her dwindling options to avoid having to sell the property.

A letter from Mr. Collins, her father’s cousin, leaves more questions than answers. He expresses his condolences, then states his intention to visit for the purpose of concluding unfinished business.

Elizabeth wonders why he waited so long to contact the family and, more importantly, what is the nature of this business he needs to finish? She recalls meeting the man at her father’s funeral but cannot remember engaging him in discussion.

The man’s arrival is anything but comforting. He announces his intention to fulfill the terms of the entail and assume ownership of Longbourn and laughs at Elizabeth’s claim that Mr. Bennet settled the matter before his untimely death.

Mr. Collins threatens to remove Elizabeth and her family from the estate unless she agrees to marry him, which she considers a disgusting proposition.

A hint of possible assistance from an unexpected source arrives, but it might not come in time to save Elizabeth from a degrading marriage to a vile, wretched man.

The thrilling conclusion threatens the life and future happiness of our heroine and brings about the redemption of an unlikely hero.

The story unfolds in “If Not for the Entail” the exciting new book from Colin Rowland. Look for it soon!