Ha'penny

In 1949, eight years after the “Peace with Honor” was negotiated between Great Britain and Nazi Germany by the Farthing Set, England has completed its slide into fascist dicatorship. Then a bomb explodes in a London suburb.

The brilliant but politically compromised Inspector Carmichael of Scotland Yard is assigned the case. What he finds leads him to a conspiracy of peers and communists, of staunch King-and-Country patriots and hardened IRA gunmen, to murder Britains Prime Minister and his new ally, Adolf Hitler.

Against a background of increasing domestic espionage and the suppression of Jews and homosexuals, an ad-hoc band of idealists and conservatives blackmail the one person they need to complete their plot, an actress who lives for her art and holds the key to the Fuhrers death. From the hapenny seats in the theatre to the hapennies that cover dead mens eyes, the conspiracy and the investigation swirl around one another, spinning beyond anyones control.

In this companion to Farthing, Welsh-born World Fantasy Award winner Jo Walton continues her alternate history of an England that could have been, with a novel that is both an homage of the classic detective novels of the thirties and forties, and an allegory of the world we live in today.

“A stiff-upper-lip whodunit boasting political intrigue and uncomfortable truths about anti-Semitism.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Amazing. One of the most compelling and chilling books of the year.”—Romantic Times Book Reviews

"In this alternative history where Great Britain and Nazi Germany have reached an uneasy alliance, Viola Larkin, an aspiring actress, responds to her sister Siddy's urgent summons. Siddy has joined a terrorist group bent on blowing up England's Prime Minister, Mark Normanby, and Adolf Hitler at Viola's opening night at a London theater. At first, Viola refuses to participate, but faced with her subsequent execution, she agrees to help, hoping that she can escape later. In alternating chapters, Inspector Carmichael of Scotland Yard investigates a London bombing that leads him ever closer to Siddy's terrorist group. Seconds before the bomb's detonation, Carmichael evacuates the theater box saving both Hitler and Normanby. Viola's conflicted emotions make her very genuine. She falls in love with Irish terrorist, Devlin Connelly, who wins her over to his cause. Even realizing that the plot may kill Viola's third sister, Celia, the wife of a high-ranking Nazi, Viola never attempts to notify the authorities. In the end, Siddy flees the country and Devlin is killed by a Nazi as he detonates the bomb, leaving Viola alone to face charges of treason. The book's first sentence, 'They don't hang people like me,' echoes with haunting clarity. Carmichael does not escape unscathed, finding himself honored as a hero for saving two men he despises. Well-drawn, believable characters mark this chilling sequel to Farthing. A tight narrative pulls the reader inexorably toward the grim finale and provides an excellent choice for young adult book discussion groups."—Nancy K. Wallace, VOYA

"This provocative sequel to acclaimed alternate history Farthing delves deeper into the intrigue and paranoia of 1940s fascist Great Britain. Denied help from the United States, England negotiated the Farthing Peace with the Nazis to end WWII, surrendering freedom for a narrow kind of safety. Eight years later, Scotland Yard investigators like Inspector Carmichael spend as much time monitoring the activities of gays, Jews and foreigners as they do hunting criminals. Carmichael, outed to his superiors as a homosexual and blackmailed into keeping deadly political secrets, plans to retire after his current case, a bombing at the country house of respected actress Lauria Gilmore. Meanwhile, Viola Lark is preparing for the role of her life as a female Hamlet when she's coerced into a plot to kill the prime minister and Hitler on opening night. World Fantasy Award-winner Walton masterfully illustrates how fear can overwhelm common sense, while leaving hope for a resurgence of popular bravery and an end to dictatorial rule."—Publishers Weekly