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Original Essays | April 29, 2013
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This title in other editionsFarthing
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:One summer weekend in 1949--but not our 1949--the well-connected "Farthing set", a group of upper-crust English families, enjoy a country retreat. Lucy is a minor daughter in one of those families; her parents were both leading figures in the group that overthrew Churchill and negotiated peace with Herr Hitler eight years before.
Despite her parents' evident disapproval, Lucy is married--happily--to a London Jew. It was therefore quite a surprise to Lucy when she and her husband David found themselves invited to the retreat. It's even more startling when, on the retreat's first night, a major politician of the Farthing set is found gruesomely murdered, with abundant signs that the killing was ritualistic.
It quickly becomes clear to Lucy that she and David were brought to the retreat in order to pin the murder on him. Major political machinations are at stake, including an initiative in Parliament, supported by the Farthing set, to limit the right to vote to university graduates. But whoever's behind the murder, and the frame-up, didn't reckon on the principal investigator from Scotland Yard being a man with very private reasons for sympathizing with outcasts...and looking beyond the obvious.
As the trap slowly shuts on Lucy and David, they begin to see a way out--a way fraught with peril in a darkening world. Review:"World Fantasy Award — winner Walton (Tooth and Claw) crosses genres without missing a beat with this stunningly powerful alternative history set in 1949, eight years after Britain agreed to peace with Nazi Germany, leaving Hitler in control of the European continent. A typical gathering at the country estate of Farthing of the power elite who brokered the deal is thrown into turmoil when the main negotiator, Sir James Thirkie, is murdered, with a yellow star pinned to his chest with a dagger. The author deftly alternates perspective between Lucy Kahn, the host's daughter, who has disgraced herself in her family's eyes by marrying a Jew, and Scotland Yard Inspector Peter Carmichael, who quickly suspects that the killer was not a Bolshevik terrorist. But while the whodunit plot is compelling, it's the convincing portrait of a country's incremental slide into fascism that makes this novel a standout. Mainstream readers should be enthralled as well." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Review:"If Le Carr‚ scares you, try Jo Walton.... brilliant." Ursula K. Le Guin
Review:"It really is one of those books that succeeds in almost too many ways to count. It's a great, engaging read, and sharp as a knife. The most meaningful parahistorical novel I've come across in a long time, succinct and rivetingly readable." Robert Charles Wilson
Review:"World Fantasy Award winner Walton...serves up an excellent example of alternate history that belongs in most sf collections." Library Journal
Review:"Walton's sinister political conspiracies pack a considerable wallop." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis:A stunning "what-if" in the manner of Fatherland and The Plot Against America.
Synopsis:A stunning "what-if" in the manner of Fatherland and The Plot Against America Synopsis:A stunning "what-if" in the manner of Fatherland and The Plot Against America Synopsis:First published in 2006, Jo Waltons Farthing was hailed as a masterpiece, a darkly romantic thriller set in an alternate postwar England sliding into fascism. Eight years after they overthrew Churchill and led Britain into a separate peace with Hitler, the upper-crust families of the “Farthing set” are gathered for a weekend retreat. Among them is estranged Farthing scion Lucy Kahn, who cant understand why her and her husband Davids presence was so forcefully requested. Then the country-house idyll is interrupted when the eminent Sir James Thirkie is found murdered—with a yellow Star of David pinned to his chest. Lucy begins to realize that her Jewish husband is about to be framed for the crime—an outcome that would be convenient for altogether too many of the various political machinations underway in Parliament in the coming week. But whoevers behind the murder, and the frame-up, didnt reckon on the principal investigator from Scotland Yard being a man with very private reasons for sympathizing with outcasts and underdogs—and prone to look beyond the obvious as a result. As the trap slowly shuts on Lucy and David, they begin to see a way out—a way fraught with peril in a darkening world. Synopsis:One summer weekend in 1949--but not our 1949--the well-connected "Farthing set", a group of upper-crust English families, enjoy a country retreat. Lucy is a minor daughter in one of those families; her parents were both leading figures in the group that overthrew Churchill and negotiated peace with Herr Hitler eight years before. Despite her parents' evident disapproval, Lucy is married--happily--to a London Jew. It was therefore quite a surprise to Lucy when she and her husband David found themselves invited to the retreat. It's even more startling when, on the retreat's first night, a major politician of the Farthing set is found gruesomely murdered, with abundant signs that the killing was ritualistic. It quickly becomes clear to Lucy that she and David were brought to the retreat in order to pin the murder on him. Major political machinations are at stake, including an initiative in Parliament, supported by the Farthing set, to limit the right to vote to university graduates. But whoever's behind the murder, and the frame-up, didn't reckon on the principal investigator from Scotland Yard being a man with very private reasons for sympathizing with outcasts...and looking beyond the obvious. As the trap slowly shuts on Lucy and David, they begin to see a way out--a way fraught with peril in a darkening world. About the AuthorJo Walton won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer on publication of her debut novel The King's Peace. Her most recent novel, Tooth and Claw, won the World Fantasy Award. A native of Wales, she lives in Montreal. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
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