Finding out what happened and proving it in a courtroom are two very different things. That’s a problem Abraham Lincoln encounters in my historical mystery, Lincoln Seeks Justice for Elijah Lovejoy.
In 1837, Lincoln is a young lawyer, accustomed to listening to people. asking questions, and sorting through conflicting accounts. But when he travels to Alton, Illinois, He encounters a community deeply divided over abolitionist newspaper editor Elijah Lovejoy. People have strong opinions. Some ware frightened. Some are angry. Some have personal reasons for wanting the controversy to end. And not everyone is eager to talk.
Lincoln begins asking questions, hoping to understand the escalating violence. But even when people are willing to speak, there’s another problem. Not everything a person knows can necessarily be heard in court. In nineteenth-century Illinois Black residents faced severe legal discrimination. Laws restricted their rights, including their ability to testify in cases involving white people.
That meant the legal system could exclude people who had witnessed important events simply because of their race. For a lawyer searching for the truth, that’s a troubling contradiction.
In my novel, Lincoln’s investigation takes him beyond the courtroom. He speaks with people throughout Alton, listening to their accounts and trying to understand what happened. When the trials begin, Lincoln isn’t one of the attorneys arguing the cases. He sits among the spectators, listening. He hears the testimony. He watches the lawyers. He observes how the events in Alton are presented to the court. And he has to consider the difference between what the courtroom hears and what may have happened outside its walls.
A courtroom is supposed to establish facts and administer justice. But a trial can only consider the evidence that is presented and permitted. What happens when the truth is larger than the evidence the law allows? That’s one of the questions at the heart of Lincoln Seeks Justice for Elijah Lovejoys. And it’s one I hope will keep readers turning the pages.
Current Projects
- My Book: Continuing revisions of Lincoln seeks Justice for Elijah Lovejoy, where a young Abraham Lincoln investigates the escalating conflict in Alton, Illinois.
- Edward Bryant: Continuing preparations for future publication and preservation of stories by my friend Edward Bryant.
Thanks for walking alongside me.
