LET LIZA’S EYES GUIDE YOU AS YOU FOLLOW HER ON HER JOURNEY FROM LIVERPOOL TO BELFAST, FROM BELFAST TO NEW YORK AND ONWARDS TO HER BELOVED AMERICAN TOWN OF BENSON
Would the actions of someone born two hundred years ago affect the lives of those today? Writer Ellie Fuller was about to find out as she sifted through the journals, letters and keepsakes of Liza Marchant, and as she wrote, she began to sense all the magic of a bygone age.
Was Liza the scarlet woman that she had been labelled or was she someone who had many twists and turns in her life, one who subsequently became an inspiration to those around her and continued to do so from beyone the grave?
Ellie begins to see her, feel her and even smell her, and she becomes quite unnerved by the experience, but when her brother, Eddy, had the same dreams, they both know that they must lay Liza to rest by accurately piecing together her life story and following the routes that she took so many years ago.
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Liza’s journey in life continues through the eyes of modern-day writer Ellie Fuller and the second book of the series follows her return to America with her husband, Patrick, and children but no sooner are they on their way when disaster strikes and Liza’s life is threatened when she is considered a ‘Jonah’ by some members of the crew.
Many adventures occur on her journey but finally she reaches her beloved town of Benson. There are still highs and lows in her life and when she experiences a powerful vision of the future, she risks her marriage, her family and her freedom by acting on what she has seen. Ellie Fuller also experiences that vision but she has yet to interpret its meaning, although she knows that what Liza saw and acted upon was so important that the risks that she took were justified.
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What happened to Kate? That has been the burning question in Ellie Fuller’s mind throughout her research into the life of Liza Marchant. As she read Liza’s correspondence and journals, she wondered whether she was ever going to find the answer. She hoped that there would be a happy ending to Kate’s story and that she had not died in some primitive Indian encampment.
Another question was brought to Ellie’s mind concerning the jewellery which in the year 1840 had been placed in an old Marchant & Fuller safe in Belfast. Liza was still insisting that it was not theirs to sell, and if not then who did it belong to?
Ellie was now experiencing the warmth and affection that Liza gave and received from her husband and sons, as well as the people of Benson and its nearby army post. But life was not always idyllic and sometimes happiness turned to sadness and fear, and at such times Lord Jamie Edgeworth came to the fore to give help and protection to Liza, whom he had loved all his adult life.
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Continuing with her research into the life of Liza Marchant, in this the fourth of the series, writer Ellie Fuller hoped that Liza had finally found contentment. Life had never been easy for Liza, but perhaps that could change with her marriage to Lord Jamie Edgeworth. It did bring some stability to her and to her boys, who were overjoyed that Jamie’s son was now considered their brother.
However, there was always someone who wished to create havoc and that was Jamie’s ex-wife Evelyn, whose jealousy made her dream up many devious way to disrupt the Edgeworth family.
Ellie Fuller still had further letters and diaries to read; she wondered whether she would have been able to take all the pressures placed on Liza all those years ago, probably not, she thought.
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“How did Liza manage all her businesses,” wondered modern-day writer, Ellie Fuller as she continued her research into Liza Marchant’s life. “We have mobiles, computers, video calls but all she had were letters. The successful Transatlantic telegraph system didn’t come into play until after the Civil War.”
But even with the lack of immediate communication, Liza and the Fuller family took advantage of an opportunity presented to them in the form of land and government investment near New York which resulted in farming, factories and the new township of Daltons. “An opportunity not to be missed,” Liza had said and she had been right.
As Ellie continued with Liza’s story, she had reason to ponder the justice system in the 19th century, which was harsh, sometimes deservedly so, but at other times it was overly severe. She found that there were far-reaching consequences for Liza and Jamie when they chose not to report the whereabouts of an escaped prisoner to the authorities. They had convinced themselves that their only sin was one of omission, but it repeatedly came back to haunt them.
Much to Liza and Jamie’s surprise, Bella, the Duchess of Berkshire and her two boys arrived on their doorstep one day. They all appeared to enjoy the experience so much that they rarely left, which led to a lifelong friendship between the two families.
Having read through another of Liza’s journals, Ellie sat back and thought that if communication had been more streamlined in those days then she would not be able to read the letters and journals which pieced together all that happened in Liza’s life. “I’m glad she didn’t life in the so-called paperless society.”
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FOR ALL TIME, AGAINST ALL ODDS, NOW AND FOREVER, FOR BETTER OR WORSE and FAME AND FORTUNE are available from Amazon UK, USA and Aus, Barnes & Noble, Dymocks, Booktopia, Book Depository, W H Smith, Foyles, Waterstones, and many other outlets.
Books by Marian L. Jasper 