Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
New York : Tor, 2008, c2007
Pages
320
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. HTML: 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 Britain's 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 Fuhrer's death. From the ha'penny seats in the theatre to the ha'pennies that cover dead men's eyes, the conspiracy and the investigation swirl around one another, spinning beyond anyone's control. In this brilliant 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. .… (more)
Awards
Lambda Literary Award (Finalist — 2007)
Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award (Nominee)
Sunburst Award (Honourable Mention — Adult — 2008)
Gaylactic Spectrum Award (Shortlist — Novel — 2008)
Sidewise Award (Finalist — 2007)
Prometheus Award (Nominee — Novel — 2008)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2007
Physical description
320 p.; 7.2 inches
ISBN
9780765358080
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User reviews
LibraryThing member BjornFr
Was disappointed far into the book that it wasn't as enjoyable as Farthing. After I go over that feeling, it was OK, but the story feels weak, and the characters didn't grip me at all.
LibraryThing member ladycato
These books blow my mind. I read FARTHING recently and immediately ordered the next two in the trilogy. Each book can stand alone but is interconnected. While HA'PENNY wasn't as good as its predecessor--the first person perspective just isn't quite as gripping and sympathetic--it's still a darn
The real skill of Walton's writing is how she depicts the two perspective: Violet, an actress who's snared in a bomb plot she really has no invested interest in, and Inspector Carmichael of Scotland Yard, a truly good man who is truly caught in the new Prime Minister's terrible web. It's a book that makes you cheer for the terrorists, as appalling as that is, because you want Hitler dead, too.
I already started the third book.
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good book. I read it over a day and a half, and found many excuses to pause for a while and read more. Walton has created a world that's terrifying because it's so convincing: Britain and Germany, stopping World War II early, and Britain's slide into fascism. The racism is particularly appalling.The real skill of Walton's writing is how she depicts the two perspective: Violet, an actress who's snared in a bomb plot she really has no invested interest in, and Inspector Carmichael of Scotland Yard, a truly good man who is truly caught in the new Prime Minister's terrible web. It's a book that makes you cheer for the terrorists, as appalling as that is, because you want Hitler dead, too.
I already started the third book.
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LibraryThing member Big_Bang_Gorilla
In which a naif is caught up in a plot to murder Adolf Hitler in a 1949 England which has become a copycat of the Third Reich after suing for peace during the stresses of the Battle of Britain. The story is told in alternating chapters by our protagonist and the police who are trying to unravel the
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plot. This is a great premise, but seldom has less been done with a great premise. Aside from a romantic subplot involving an amusing "Heinie" Himmler, it's pretty much just another thriller when you strip away the hypothetical trappings. Show Less
LibraryThing member john257hopper
Ha'penny
This follow up to the author's alternative historical novel Farthing concerns a plot to kill Hitler and the English quisling PM Mark Normanby. the irony is that the plotters are mostly fairly unsympathetic characters, while the police officer pursuing them is a much more sympathetic man,
This follow up to the author's alternative historical novel Farthing concerns a plot to kill Hitler and the English quisling PM Mark Normanby. the irony is that the plotters are mostly fairly unsympathetic characters, while the police officer pursuing them is a much more sympathetic man,
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opposed to the regime in his heart, but compromised by his forced involvement in the political machinations in Farthing. The novel reminds me rather of The Eagle has Landed, probably because one of the plotters was an Irish opportunist called Devlin who reminded me of the character in Jack Higgins's novel. Good stuff, though I found the theatrical bits a little tedious. 4/5 Show Less
LibraryThing member sturlington
The second in a series of alternate history mysteries, set in a Britain that has made peace with Hitler, averting the bulk of WWII but precipitating Britain's decline into fascism, while also perpetuating the concentration camps and other horrors of the Nazi regime. I liked the sequel better than
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the first in the series, I think, which alternates between the point of views of Inspector Carmichael, who appeared in the first book, and Viola Lark, an actress and new character. Viola's character was more interesting to me than the POV character from Farthing, and the plot seemed more substantial. I will probably continue the trilogy. Show Less
LibraryThing member JeremyPreacher
I read this first in the series, and it worked just fine that way. (About a third of the way in, it occurred to me that I might have done it wrong, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment any.)
The theme that resonated most with me was the question "What is 'real life'?" Is it your job? Your family? Your
Ha'penny is probably the least global of the three books - it seems a small slice of life focusing on some minor characters. But it ties everything together beautifully.
The theme that resonated most with me was the question "What is 'real life'?" Is it your job? Your family? Your
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class? Your art? Walton implies that too often, it's the one that requires the least critical thinking, and demonstrates some of the consequences when, say, the play's the thing, and not the bomb set up in the Royal Box.Ha'penny is probably the least global of the three books - it seems a small slice of life focusing on some minor characters. But it ties everything together beautifully.
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LibraryThing member suzemo
I really enjoy these Small Change books. The alternate history of "what might have been" and then what could be happening in what might have been.
I feel like this book suffers from middle book syndrome. I don't enjoy it as much as the other two, although it's a superb book. So this book > most
We switch from the English-country-manor mystery murder scene in Farthing to London's theatre crowd. A bomb goes off, killing a some-what famous actress, and the police Inspector Carmichael is once again one of the two main characters. There is still some intertwining of characters (both big and historic, and smaller) from Farthing because the other main character in this book is on of the daughters of an aristocratic character who has rejected her place in life and become an actress. The mystery and world Walton writes is riveting and I find it easy to become immersed in it.
Along with the Third Reich and questions of "what could have been" there are a lot of social questions and issues floating around. Things to think about, which are still relevant today.
Brilliant. Lots and lots of love for this book.
I feel like this book suffers from middle book syndrome. I don't enjoy it as much as the other two, although it's a superb book. So this book > most
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books in the universe.We switch from the English-country-manor mystery murder scene in Farthing to London's theatre crowd. A bomb goes off, killing a some-what famous actress, and the police Inspector Carmichael is once again one of the two main characters. There is still some intertwining of characters (both big and historic, and smaller) from Farthing because the other main character in this book is on of the daughters of an aristocratic character who has rejected her place in life and become an actress. The mystery and world Walton writes is riveting and I find it easy to become immersed in it.
Along with the Third Reich and questions of "what could have been" there are a lot of social questions and issues floating around. Things to think about, which are still relevant today.
Brilliant. Lots and lots of love for this book.
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LibraryThing member bluesalamanders
I'll be honest, if I'd known more about this book, I never would have picked it up in the first place. Firstly, there is nothing on my copy to indicate it is the second book in a trilogy. Secondly, I generally avoid books set in and around the WWII era (as a personal preference). As it is, I didn't
All that being said, while I can't precisely say I enjoyed it, I did find Ha'penny to be well-written, with impressively good pacing for a book with multiple points-of-view, and interesting enough that I finished it even after realizing it was something I normally avoid.
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realize the setting until a couple of chapters in and didn't discover it was part of a series until I had finished it. All that being said, while I can't precisely say I enjoyed it, I did find Ha'penny to be well-written, with impressively good pacing for a book with multiple points-of-view, and interesting enough that I finished it even after realizing it was something I normally avoid.
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LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
Somewhat less depressing than Farthing, but only just. Two stories - two viewpoints - eventually converging in the climactic event. Inspector Carmichael is investigating an explosion that killed two people; Viola Lark(in) is getting caught up in a conspiracy to place a bomb to kill Hitler and Prime
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Minister Normanby. Carmichael's investigation keeps getting closer, but the final discovery is pretty much accidental. A good deal more about the casual racism and constant paranoia that permeates this alternate England, and about the levers Carmichael's superiors have on him. Not many escapees this time, and a lot of people dead, but Carmichael thinks he has a lever to push back now. And maybe he does, but it's going to be nasty using it. I'd started the book at least twice before, and could never force myself into continuing; this time I pushed through. I'm glad I read it, but I have no intention of ever reading it again. I suppose I will read the next one, though. Eventually. Something light right now, though, to take the nasty taste out of my mind. Show Less
LibraryThing member sageness
I'm getting the feeling that Walton's generally weak at endings. She builds great momentum through the middle, but here's another case of the story's climactic event being summarized after the fact by a protagonist who wasn't there to see it. Which, WTF?!
I appreciated getting to see Carmichael's
Sadly, this book killed off the only character I've really liked (Daphne), destroyed Carmichael's credibility as a sentient organism, and destroyed the theatre company's credibility with Viola's WTF interpretation of Hamlet. The writing itself was good, though. The plotting is satisfying complex, and the 'verse is still fascinating. Just wish things hadn't fallen apart so much in the final act.
I appreciated getting to see Carmichael's
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miserable life partner manservant this time, and my feelings about him are: OH honey. You deserve SO much better than this shit.Sadly, this book killed off the only character I've really liked (Daphne), destroyed Carmichael's credibility as a sentient organism, and destroyed the theatre company's credibility with Viola's WTF interpretation of Hamlet. The writing itself was good, though. The plotting is satisfying complex, and the 'verse is still fascinating. Just wish things hadn't fallen apart so much in the final act.
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LibraryThing member Figgles
The second instalment of Jo Walton's Small Change trilogy is a thriller rather than a murder mystery and this time riffs on the Mitford sisters with a planned assassination in a theatrical setting in her alternative history post WWII Britain, where the war ended in 1941. Too similar to "Farthing"
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this book suffers in comparison to anything written by a real Mitford sister. I much prefer Ngaio Marsh for mysteries set in the theatre. OK but not great. Show Less
LibraryThing member ehines
Murder mystery/Alternate history of 1940s Britain. This is a really fine series. Whereas Farthing, the first book in the series, strongly echoed Peter Dickinson's country house & royalty books, this one had more the feel of Graham Greene's "entertainments" or the espionage thrillers of Eric Ambler,
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but there is still that attention to the nuance of human interaction that pretty clearly comes down through Dickinson (from Austen, probably). Good stuff. Show Less
LibraryThing member TadAD
This is the second book in Walton's alternate history Small Change series. The first book, Farthing, was a mystery. While, as a mystery, its plot was average, what attracted me to it was the setting: America had stayed out of World War II; England had made a separate peace with Hitler, leaving
Unfortunately, it disappointed me. The story takes the form of a thriller and, as with the mystery format of its predecessor, it is only an average example of its type. However, in this case, the other aspects of the book did not make up for this. The insidious creep of Fascism and institutionalized racism that pervaded the last story have lost their subtlety. Presented with more abrupt and drastic changes to our social histories, the thread of willing suspension of disbelief broke for me and I was left saying, "Well, I suppose it could have gone that way...but I doubt it."
Even more difficult for me were the characters. With the exception of the returning Inspector Carmichael, I find them uniformly lifeless. Every emotion seemed flat. The political terrorists have little fire. The innocent caught up in the plans have no terror. Faced with murdering a sibling or being murdered oneself produces no anguish, only annoyance.
If this were a stand-alone book, I'd be done with this author. Having enjoyed the first book, however, I'll look for the final book in the trilogy in second-hand shops, just to see how it all turns out for Carmichael...and hoping it's more like the first.
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Russia to fight alone; Fascism was rising rapidly in Great Britain. While we (Americans and British) might like to think our countries could never have gone those routes, Walton made it very believable. I was left a bit chilled after reading it and I looked forward to the second book.Unfortunately, it disappointed me. The story takes the form of a thriller and, as with the mystery format of its predecessor, it is only an average example of its type. However, in this case, the other aspects of the book did not make up for this. The insidious creep of Fascism and institutionalized racism that pervaded the last story have lost their subtlety. Presented with more abrupt and drastic changes to our social histories, the thread of willing suspension of disbelief broke for me and I was left saying, "Well, I suppose it could have gone that way...but I doubt it."
Even more difficult for me were the characters. With the exception of the returning Inspector Carmichael, I find them uniformly lifeless. Every emotion seemed flat. The political terrorists have little fire. The innocent caught up in the plans have no terror. Faced with murdering a sibling or being murdered oneself produces no anguish, only annoyance.
If this were a stand-alone book, I'd be done with this author. Having enjoyed the first book, however, I'll look for the final book in the trilogy in second-hand shops, just to see how it all turns out for Carmichael...and hoping it's more like the first.
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LibraryThing member CasualFriday
I enjoyed Farthing, the first book in this trilogy, very much, but this second installment didn't do as much for me.
The premise of the series is that Britain forged a separate peace with Hitler during World War II, and the country has been taken over by a group of fascist sympathizers known
I had a couple of problems. First, my personal taste draws me more to the manor-house-murder theme of the first book than the bomb-plot of the second. Second, there was necessarily a lack of suspense in that there was no way that Hitler or the PM was actually going to be killed, or there would be no third installment. So, literally until page 200 of about 260 pages, I considered chucking the book, and then it got interesting enough to finish. Maybe I'll try the third one.
The premise of the series is that Britain forged a separate peace with Hitler during World War II, and the country has been taken over by a group of fascist sympathizers known
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informally as the Farthing set. In this book, a group of people are involved in a conspiracy to kill both Hitler and Britain's fascist prime minister. I had a couple of problems. First, my personal taste draws me more to the manor-house-murder theme of the first book than the bomb-plot of the second. Second, there was necessarily a lack of suspense in that there was no way that Hitler or the PM was actually going to be killed, or there would be no third installment. So, literally until page 200 of about 260 pages, I considered chucking the book, and then it got interesting enough to finish. Maybe I'll try the third one.
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LibraryThing member Meredy
Six-word review: Conspiracy and coercion in 1949 Britain.
Extended review:
The sequel to Farthing follows the same model of alternating chapters with different focal characters, one in first person and the other in third. The third-person character, Inspector Carmichael, continues from Farthing; the
Again we have an alternate history set in a 1949 that never happened. The action of the story takes place only a few weeks after the political events in Farthing effect a change of leadership in Britain, and now the new prime minister is hosting a chummy visit from Adolf Hitler, whose Reich dominates Europe. The visit sets the stage for a group of left-wing revolutionaries to plot a double assassination--a conspiracy in which Viola is perforce caught up. Her handling of the role, or roles, she must play forms the main plot line, in parallel with Carmichael's investigation of a related bombing.
The troubled inspector is an interesting character whose personal conflicts color his professional life. His inner struggle is not a simple one, and it is far from easy to see what we might do in his place. The questions he faces constitute the moral core of the series so far and give it greater weight than we might expect for a suspense-thriller. The device of an alternate history allows the author to play out a number of disturbing themes in the manner of a cautionary tale rather than outright social criticism. I would be guessing if I speculated on her reason for doing this, so I'll just say it strikes me as possibly disarming to defensive reflexes.
Here's a line I liked, an example of the author's deft treatment of dialogue that sounds natural but is more likely to have been very carefully composed: "Who would tell anything important to someone with more hair than wits?" (page 217).
The novel didn't leave me thrilled to breathlessness or awe-struck with wonder and admiration, but I found it adequately competent, solid, and entertaining, and that's what three and a half stars mean to me. I will complete this trilogy sometime in the next month or two.
Extended review:
The sequel to Farthing follows the same model of alternating chapters with different focal characters, one in first person and the other in third. The third-person character, Inspector Carmichael, continues from Farthing; the
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first-person narrator, Viola Lark, is new. It's a somewhat odd device, but it works well enough, although I think it calls attention to the formal structure of the novel instead of letting it disappear behind the story. To that extent it interferes with my ability to immerse myself in the world of the novel.Again we have an alternate history set in a 1949 that never happened. The action of the story takes place only a few weeks after the political events in Farthing effect a change of leadership in Britain, and now the new prime minister is hosting a chummy visit from Adolf Hitler, whose Reich dominates Europe. The visit sets the stage for a group of left-wing revolutionaries to plot a double assassination--a conspiracy in which Viola is perforce caught up. Her handling of the role, or roles, she must play forms the main plot line, in parallel with Carmichael's investigation of a related bombing.
The troubled inspector is an interesting character whose personal conflicts color his professional life. His inner struggle is not a simple one, and it is far from easy to see what we might do in his place. The questions he faces constitute the moral core of the series so far and give it greater weight than we might expect for a suspense-thriller. The device of an alternate history allows the author to play out a number of disturbing themes in the manner of a cautionary tale rather than outright social criticism. I would be guessing if I speculated on her reason for doing this, so I'll just say it strikes me as possibly disarming to defensive reflexes.
Here's a line I liked, an example of the author's deft treatment of dialogue that sounds natural but is more likely to have been very carefully composed: "Who would tell anything important to someone with more hair than wits?" (page 217).
The novel didn't leave me thrilled to breathlessness or awe-struck with wonder and admiration, but I found it adequately competent, solid, and entertaining, and that's what three and a half stars mean to me. I will complete this trilogy sometime in the next month or two.
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LibraryThing member Stewartry
I kind of liked the first book in this trilogy. I didn't like this one nearly so much. (I loathed the third one, but I'll get to that in due time.) It takes place not so long after the first one, and the story now centers around an actress who finds herself embroiled in an anarchist plot to kill
"I imagine Claudius as a man bad enough to commit murder, but with enough conscience to come to feel guilty." Uh, no, that's not your imagination. That's the way he's written. That's exactly the way he's written.
The cast and crew is all stirred up about their iconoclastic production. "…The whole indecisive thing did make more sense for a girl, who wouldn't expect to inherit automatically. A son and heir being usurped would be a fool to do nothing about it…" Yeah, but ... That's not how it worked. There was no "inherit automatically". The kingship in Denmark in Hamlet's time period worked entirely differently. So – this is a non sequitur. And ignorant, for a dramaturg. And rather offensively sexist, I don't think I really need to add (although in a book I liked I'd be excusing that based on the setting).
I did enjoy this moment, regarding whether it makes more sense for Hamlet to be a woman: "Mrs. Tring laughed. 'If it made more sense, you can trust that Shakespeare would have written it that way round first off and saved a lot of trouble.' *hugs Mrs. Tring*
I think another small reason I began to dislike this series was the narration. The first book alternated between one male and one female character, and I liked both. Or at least became used to both. While the male character – and narrator - carry over for this second book, the female character (and thus narrator) is new, and I didn't enjoy her reading as much. (I believe it was she who pronounced Boedicea as "Bow-disha", which is an entirely new one on me.)
It might not have been so much the narrator, however, as that character, Viola. In a way, I liked the divided perspective she developed, with half of her continuing to work on her role as Hamlet – while all the time the other half of her is participating in plans that will destroy the play. And the theatre. And, hopefully, Hitler. She just wore out her welcome with me after a while. Rather like the heroine of the first book, she's not the sharpest crayon in the box, and … I just didn't like her. When one of her sisters died, she says at one point, "I went to the funeral, even though it was up in Yorkshire, and meant hours on a blacked out train". Gosh. And she was only your sister. That's mighty decent of you. Heroic, even. Here's a medal. She is simplistic about her motivations for her planned act of anarchy; granted, it doesn't require any complex reasoning to know Hitler is evil, but (like Lucy from [book:Farthing]) she's rather childlike.
"It was a detail that had always stuck with me, even when I thought it was just a horror story. It was the stuff of nightmare, being given soap and going into a shower but the soap is a stone and the showerheads vent poison gas."
And there is Inspector Carmichael again, being drawn deeper into a position which could endanger his relationship with his (male) lover (homosexuality being seen as nearly as bad a Judaism in this Nazi-riddled alternate world). He's kind of a hard-luck fellow – nothing seems to go his way. So when, toward the end, he is cheerful about the case being nearly over, it's a clear and certain sign that something is about to go catastrophically pear-shaped. He tells himself, "Not for very much longer now!" And I said, Uh oh.
I just didn't enjoy it much. I didn't like the taste going down, and I didn't like the aftertaste. But I'd already bought the sequel…
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Hitler. Meanwhile, she is slated to star as a revolutionary female Hamlet, and while that was almost a saving grace … the author's knowledge of Shakespeare, and Hamlet, let her down, which let me down."I imagine Claudius as a man bad enough to commit murder, but with enough conscience to come to feel guilty." Uh, no, that's not your imagination. That's the way he's written. That's exactly the way he's written.
The cast and crew is all stirred up about their iconoclastic production. "…The whole indecisive thing did make more sense for a girl, who wouldn't expect to inherit automatically. A son and heir being usurped would be a fool to do nothing about it…" Yeah, but ... That's not how it worked. There was no "inherit automatically". The kingship in Denmark in Hamlet's time period worked entirely differently. So – this is a non sequitur. And ignorant, for a dramaturg. And rather offensively sexist, I don't think I really need to add (although in a book I liked I'd be excusing that based on the setting).
I did enjoy this moment, regarding whether it makes more sense for Hamlet to be a woman: "Mrs. Tring laughed. 'If it made more sense, you can trust that Shakespeare would have written it that way round first off and saved a lot of trouble.' *hugs Mrs. Tring*
I think another small reason I began to dislike this series was the narration. The first book alternated between one male and one female character, and I liked both. Or at least became used to both. While the male character – and narrator - carry over for this second book, the female character (and thus narrator) is new, and I didn't enjoy her reading as much. (I believe it was she who pronounced Boedicea as "Bow-disha", which is an entirely new one on me.)
It might not have been so much the narrator, however, as that character, Viola. In a way, I liked the divided perspective she developed, with half of her continuing to work on her role as Hamlet – while all the time the other half of her is participating in plans that will destroy the play. And the theatre. And, hopefully, Hitler. She just wore out her welcome with me after a while. Rather like the heroine of the first book, she's not the sharpest crayon in the box, and … I just didn't like her. When one of her sisters died, she says at one point, "I went to the funeral, even though it was up in Yorkshire, and meant hours on a blacked out train". Gosh. And she was only your sister. That's mighty decent of you. Heroic, even. Here's a medal. She is simplistic about her motivations for her planned act of anarchy; granted, it doesn't require any complex reasoning to know Hitler is evil, but (like Lucy from [book:Farthing]) she's rather childlike.
"It was a detail that had always stuck with me, even when I thought it was just a horror story. It was the stuff of nightmare, being given soap and going into a shower but the soap is a stone and the showerheads vent poison gas."
And there is Inspector Carmichael again, being drawn deeper into a position which could endanger his relationship with his (male) lover (homosexuality being seen as nearly as bad a Judaism in this Nazi-riddled alternate world). He's kind of a hard-luck fellow – nothing seems to go his way. So when, toward the end, he is cheerful about the case being nearly over, it's a clear and certain sign that something is about to go catastrophically pear-shaped. He tells himself, "Not for very much longer now!" And I said, Uh oh.
I just didn't enjoy it much. I didn't like the taste going down, and I didn't like the aftertaste. But I'd already bought the sequel…
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LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing
Set shortly after [book: Farthing], Inspector Carmichael is once again drawn into a murder case with disturbingly political subtext. This is a disturbing, frustrating book because the situation is completely hopeless. Fascism and every possible form of modern intolerance continue to gain power, and
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nothing the smart, likeable main characters do makes any difference. It doesn't seem like the failures of the main characters (Lucy Khan in the first book, Viola Lark in this) and Carmichael's own compromises serve any purpose other than to depress the reader. Show Less
LibraryThing member Silvernfire
I'm used to trilogies being fairly uniform in style, so I was expecting Ha'penny to be a second Farthing. Well, no, not so much. Farthing is a classic murder-at-the-ancestral-family-estate mystery, even as it depicts an alternate Britain's slide into fascism. Ha'penny is a political thriller. It
Like Farthing, the narration in Ha'penny alternates between a woman (stage actress Viola Lark) and Inspector Peter Carmichael. I had a slightly harder time believing in Viola than in Lucy Kahn, mainly because of Viola's compliance/infatuation with Devlin, which seemed more convenient for the plot than realistic . Aside from that, though, I think Walton did a fine job with her character. Both she and Lucy are first-person narrators, but they "sound" different. Unlike Lucy, Viola is a fine example of someone who doesn't care what the government is up to as long as it leaves her alone. And it was good to see Carmichael again, definitely shaken after the events of Farthing, and trying to find his way. We see more of his personal life here (and finally get to meet Jack!).
The conspiracy in Ha'penny is no secret except to Carmichael and the police. In most thrillers, you'd be in suspense, wondering if the conspirators would be able to pull off their plan before the police figured it out. But here, you know they'll fail because this is the middle book of a trilogy, and if they succeeded, we wouldn't need the third book. Despite knowing all that, I still found myself wondering if they'd manage it anyway, which I figured was a sign of good writing.
The core of Ha'penny, though, is the increasingly poisonous atmosphere. Walton does an excellent job of showing how characters willingly contribute to their own oppression, in the hopes of saving themselves or their loved ones. As is usual in real life, there aren't any unfailingly heroic characters. Even while I was rooting for the conspirators (they're trying to kill Hitler; how could you not cheer them on?), it's clear that if the assassination is successful, bystanders will die as well. It's plausible that the conspirators would be seen as terrorists, not only by a government happy to have scapegoats at hand, but by everyday people.
So, yeah, read Ha'penny. Just don't expect it to be Farthing Redux.
P.S. I'd love to see the cross-cast version of Hamlet that Viola was starring in.
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starts as a mystery, but you find out soon enough who died and how, and the focus of the story quickly shifts to a plot to kill Britain's prime minister and his political ally, Hitler. Set about two weeks after the end of Farthing, the atmosphere has changed noticeably. Instead of fascism quietly, stealthily lurking in the background of the story, it's an active concern for the characters, who discuss it, argue about it, and try to fit their lives around it.Like Farthing, the narration in Ha'penny alternates between a woman (stage actress Viola Lark) and Inspector Peter Carmichael. I had a slightly harder time believing in Viola than in Lucy Kahn
The conspiracy in Ha'penny is no secret except to Carmichael and the police. In most thrillers, you'd be in suspense, wondering if the conspirators would be able to pull off their plan before the police figured it out. But here, you know they'll fail because this is the middle book of a trilogy, and if they succeeded, we wouldn't need the third book. Despite knowing all that, I still found myself wondering if they'd manage it anyway, which I figured was a sign of good writing.
The core of Ha'penny, though, is the increasingly poisonous atmosphere. Walton does an excellent job of showing how characters willingly contribute to their own oppression, in the hopes of saving themselves or their loved ones. As is usual in real life, there aren't any unfailingly heroic characters. Even while I was rooting for the conspirators (they're trying to kill Hitler; how could you not cheer them on?), it's clear that if the assassination is successful, bystanders will die as well. It's plausible that the conspirators would be seen as terrorists, not only by a government happy to have scapegoats at hand, but by everyday people.
So, yeah, read Ha'penny. Just don't expect it to be Farthing Redux.
P.S. I'd love to see the cross-cast version of Hamlet that Viola was starring in.
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LibraryThing member gypsysmom
This is the second book in the Small Change series and, like the first, I sped through it. It was perhaps a tiny bit less dramatic than the first but that is probably to be expected in the middle book of a trilogy. This series is an alternate history set in a Britain that made peace with the Nazis
The Farthing Group who took power of the British parliament in the last book have made further inroads into the rights and liberties of the British public by rounding up Jews and communists as terrorists. Those who haven't been detained have trouble getting jobs or even going out in public as everyone has to show their identity cards when demanded. Viola Lark is a daughter of a Lord even though she has been disinherited because she decided to make a career in the theatre. She is one of 6 sisters and they are each as different from the other as can be imagined. One sister, Cressida (Siddy), is a Communist and one sister, Celia (Pip), is married to a Nazi. Viola has been asked to perform in Hamlet and take the lead role. The director tells her that the PM and Hitler will be in the audience on opening night. Her mother was to have been played by a well-known actress but before rehearsals start she is blown up by a bomb and it becomes apparent to Inspector Carmichael, who is investigating this death, that she and another man were building the bomb. He can't figure out why because there has been no public announcement of the VIP performance. Meanwhile Viola has been asked by Siddy to take part in the plot but she is reluctant to do so because she doesn't really believe the government and Hitler are as bad as they are made out to be. An IRA bomber who is going to make the bomb tells Viola that she can either do her part or be killed because they can't allow her to go free now that she knows. Viola agrees to help in those circumstances but she thinks there will be some way to prevent the bombing in the end.
As in the first book alternating chapters are told by Inspector Carmichael so we can see how the plot is being unravelled bit by bit. The question is will the bomb be detonated and achieve its purpose before he can stop it? We are kept guessing right up to the end.
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after the Dunkirk evacuation.The Farthing Group who took power of the British parliament in the last book have made further inroads into the rights and liberties of the British public by rounding up Jews and communists as terrorists. Those who haven't been detained have trouble getting jobs or even going out in public as everyone has to show their identity cards when demanded. Viola Lark is a daughter of a Lord even though she has been disinherited because she decided to make a career in the theatre. She is one of 6 sisters and they are each as different from the other as can be imagined. One sister, Cressida (Siddy), is a Communist and one sister, Celia (Pip), is married to a Nazi. Viola has been asked to perform in Hamlet and take the lead role. The director tells her that the PM and Hitler will be in the audience on opening night. Her mother was to have been played by a well-known actress but before rehearsals start she is blown up by a bomb and it becomes apparent to Inspector Carmichael, who is investigating this death, that she and another man were building the bomb. He can't figure out why because there has been no public announcement of the VIP performance. Meanwhile Viola has been asked by Siddy to take part in the plot but she is reluctant to do so because she doesn't really believe the government and Hitler are as bad as they are made out to be. An IRA bomber who is going to make the bomb tells Viola that she can either do her part or be killed because they can't allow her to go free now that she knows. Viola agrees to help in those circumstances but she thinks there will be some way to prevent the bombing in the end.
As in the first book alternating chapters are told by Inspector Carmichael so we can see how the plot is being unravelled bit by bit. The question is will the bomb be detonated and achieve its purpose before he can stop it? We are kept guessing right up to the end.
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LibraryThing member ParadisePorch
Second in the trilogy set in the late 1940s in an England that accepted a 'peace' with Hitler in 1941 and has become very much like Germany.
The ha'penny of the title is in a quote from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, around which the plot revolves. Really quite clever - and frightening.
The ha'penny of the title is in a quote from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, around which the plot revolves. Really quite clever - and frightening.
LibraryThing member xiaomarlo
It's good! But not as good as Farthing, which has a more cohesive viewpoint. This was just as suspenseful, but it ended too abruptly. I needed a denouement.
LibraryThing member devilwrites
The premise: ganked from BN.com: 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
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 Fuhrer's death. From the ha'penny seats in the theatre to the ha'pennies that cover dead men's eyes, the conspiracy and the investigation swirl around one another, spinning beyond anyone's control.
In this brilliant 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.
My Rating: Good Read
Coming back to this strange, alternate world was in some ways, a delight. I really enjoy Walton's style in these books, and the tension driving the book forward never fails to capture my attention: killing Hitler. When it comes to alternate histories, anything is possible, and I couldn't wait to see how Walton's alternate history would shape up. It's such a quiet book, yet it's filled with a building tension that's hard to escape. Part of this is due to the style, as the reader gets both sides of the story. In Farthing, the tension came from both sides actually being on the same side but not knowing it. In Ha'Penny, the tension comes from the fact that both sides SHOULD be on the same side, but they aren't, and the reader wants them to be. It's a fascinating book that develops the world in interesting and new ways, and it's complex enough that one day, whenever I get my hands on the final installment, I'd like to re-read the whole set all over again.
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Yay, but such spoilers really aren't detrimental to the book. However, if you want to remain spoiler-free, I suggest not reading the full review, which I link to below. And please note, this book does spoil events that happened in Farthing, so it's not wholly recommended that you read them out of order. At any rate, if you're caught up, onward!
Click below to go to the full review, which is at my blog. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.
REVIEW: Jo Walton's HA'PENNY
Happy Reading!
The brilliant but politically compromised
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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 Britain's 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 Fuhrer's death. From the ha'penny seats in the theatre to the ha'pennies that cover dead men's eyes, the conspiracy and the investigation swirl around one another, spinning beyond anyone's control.
In this brilliant 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.
My Rating: Good Read
Coming back to this strange, alternate world was in some ways, a delight. I really enjoy Walton's style in these books, and the tension driving the book forward never fails to capture my attention: killing Hitler. When it comes to alternate histories, anything is possible, and I couldn't wait to see how Walton's alternate history would shape up. It's such a quiet book, yet it's filled with a building tension that's hard to escape. Part of this is due to the style, as the reader gets both sides of the story. In Farthing, the tension came from both sides actually being on the same side but not knowing it. In Ha'Penny, the tension comes from the fact that both sides SHOULD be on the same side, but they aren't, and the reader wants them to be. It's a fascinating book that develops the world in interesting and new ways, and it's complex enough that one day, whenever I get my hands on the final installment, I'd like to re-read the whole set all over again.
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Yay, but such spoilers really aren't detrimental to the book. However, if you want to remain spoiler-free, I suggest not reading the full review, which I link to below. And please note, this book does spoil events that happened in Farthing, so it's not wholly recommended that you read them out of order. At any rate, if you're caught up, onward!
Click below to go to the full review, which is at my blog. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.
REVIEW: Jo Walton's HA'PENNY
Happy Reading!
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LibraryThing member ChrisRiesbeck
For me, an OK but disappointing 2nd book in the Small Change trilogy. As with Farthing, there are two alternating story lines. There's the continuing story of Peter Carmichael, told in the third person, and a new story, about the actress Viola Lark(in), told in the first person. I have four
That said, the Carmichael half of the book is strong. Recommended for anyone who liked Farthing.
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problems with the book. The first is that the first-person story line is nowhere near as engaging as the first book's. I think Walton had a clear and not very flattering picture of Viola in mind, but it's very difficult to convey a character's limitations in the first person without lapsing into parody. As a result, Viola at once early crucial juncture acts in a way I found inexplicable. The second problem for me was that the story is too pre-determined by the conventions of the genre. The third problem is a concluding bit of character retrospection that is way too pat and artificial. The fourth problem is a minor irritation; there must have been 5 different uses of "ha'penny" to motivate the title. One was sufficient.That said, the Carmichael half of the book is strong. Recommended for anyone who liked Farthing.
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LibraryThing member danhammang
It succeeds as a police procedural, as alternate history and as a work of high order literature. As rising suspense propels the plot forward our protagonist rises to the challenges placed in front of him. You care not only for the characters but also for the implications in our all to real present.
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And if the human players are not enough, enjoy London as just a real character as Carmichael. Head for the library, or the bookstore, physical or virtual. Show Less
LibraryThing member Fence
I read Farthing last month, and straight away I added the next book to Mount TBR. Well, the second I finished this I almost grabbed the third in the series to start reading it. In fact, had it not been for the fact that I didn’t have it with me, and had time left on my lunch for reading, I would
It is certainly darker.
And yet despite the darkness and the horror it is an incredibly easy book to read and to enjoy. Also, when I say dark and horror, I don’t mean that there this is anything like a torture-porn story or a ghost story. Instead it is a social and political horror story, the erosion of democracy and the formation of a fascist society. And how easy it seems to happen.
I hadn’t read the blurb on the back, of this, or any of the other books in the series, so I thought this might be a continuation of Lucy and David’s story. So I was a bit thrown to have a different first person narrator. But only initially. After a paragraph or too I could see why Walton chose to centre the story on a different woman. She’s from a similar class and status to Lucy, but she has a very different outlook to her.
Inspector Carmichael is the returning central character here, and after how Farthing ended for him, he has serious soul searching to do. His story is so important. A good man, in terrible times, with a secret that those in power are all too willing to use to keep him in line. His story is heart-breaking.
I found that I kept wanting to keep reading this book. It’s certainly a tense, atmospheric page-turner of a book. Makes for compulsive reading.
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probably have dived right into the third book. Because I loved this one. I mean, I really liked Farthing, it was great, but this one is even better in some respects.It is certainly darker.
And yet despite the darkness and the horror it is an incredibly easy book to read and to enjoy. Also, when I say dark and horror, I don’t mean that there this is anything like a torture-porn story or a ghost story. Instead it is a social and political horror story, the erosion of democracy and the formation of a fascist society. And how easy it seems to happen.
I hadn’t read the blurb on the back, of this, or any of the other books in the series, so I thought this might be a continuation of Lucy and David’s story. So I was a bit thrown to have a different first person narrator. But only initially. After a paragraph or too I could see why Walton chose to centre the story on a different woman. She’s from a similar class and status to Lucy, but she has a very different outlook to her.
Inspector Carmichael is the returning central character here, and after how Farthing ended for him, he has serious soul searching to do. His story is so important. A good man, in terrible times, with a secret that those in power are all too willing to use to keep him in line. His story is heart-breaking.
I found that I kept wanting to keep reading this book. It’s certainly a tense, atmospheric page-turner of a book. Makes for compulsive reading.
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