Ha'penny (novel)

Infobox Book |
name = Ha'penny


image_caption = Tor Books hardcover
author = Jo Walton
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Small Change
genre = Alternate history novel
publisher = Tor Books
pub_date = 2 October 2007
media_type = Print (Hardcover)
pages = 320 pp (hardcover edition)
isbn = ISBN 0765318539 (hardcover edition)
preceded_by = Farthing
followed_by = Half a Crown

"Ha'penny" is a science fiction novel written by Jo Walton and published by Tor Books in October, 2007.

Plot summary

The book is mystery thriller set inside an alternate history in which the United Kingdom made peace with Adolf Hitler in 1941.

It's 1949 and England has slid into fascist dictatorship. When a bomb explodes in a London suburb, Scotland Yard Inspector Peter Carmichael is assigned to the case. He finds a web of conspiracy and a plot to murder both Britain's new Prime Minister and Adolf Hitler, during the latter's Friendship visit to London. Carmichael's professional ethics became compromised during a previous case involving the aristocratic and political establishment, which may affect his ability to handle the case at hand. Life is also complicated for Viola Lark, who abandoned the upper class environment of her family and lost touch with her five very different sisters (inspired by the real-life Mitford sisters [http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10407 IRoSF: Login Required ] ] ) when she chose to become an actress. Viola is given the role of a lifetime and hard decisions to make, as she becomes caught up in family politics.

The first "Small Change" novel, "Farthing", was released in August 2006 by Tor Books. A third novel in the series, "Half a Crown", is set to come out in September 2008, also from Tor.

Awards and nominations

The "Los Angeles Times" named "Ha'penny" one of their ten Favorite Mystery Books of 2007. [cite news | first = Sarah | last = Weinman | title = Favorite Mystery Books of 2007 | url = http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-bk-weinman9dec09,0,2441085.story?coll=la-books-center
work = Los Angeles Times | date = 2007-12-07 | accessdate = 2007-12-29]

The novel has been nominated for a Lambda Literary Award for LGBT-themed fiction. [cite web | title = Nominees for the 20th Annual Lambda Literary Awards | url = http://www.lambdaliterary.org/awards/current_nominees.html#scifi | accessdate= 2008-01-12]

"Ha'penny" tied with Harry Turtledove's "The Gladiator" for the 2008 Prometheus Award. [ [http://www.sfawardswatch.com/?p=841 Prometheus Winners] ]

Publication history

*2007, USA, Tor Books ISBN 0765318539, Pub date 2 October 2007, Hardback
*2008, USA, Tor Books ISBN 0765358085, Pub date 1 July 2008, Mass Market Paperback

References

External links

* [http://www.tor-forge.com/hapenny Tor-Forge Books - Ha'penny]
*cite news | first = Cory | last = Doctorow | title = Ha'penny, haunting thriller about an alternate British Reich | url = http://www.boingboing.net/2007/09/24/hapenny-haunting-thr.html | work = BoingBoing | date = 2007-09-24 | accessdate = 2007-12-29
*cite news | first = Sarah | last = Weinman | title = The what-might-have-been-genre | url = http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-bkw-weinman28oct28,1,1770871.story | work = Los Angeles Times | date = 2007-10-28 | accessdate = 2007-12-29
*cite news | first = Adrienne | last = Martini | title = Heil Britannia: Jo Walton Images a World Where The UK Negotiated An Armistice With Germany in 1941 | url = http://www.citypaper.com/arts/story.asp?id=14955 | work = Baltimore City Paper | date = 2007-12-12 | accessdate = 2007-12-29
*cite news | first = Michael | last = Berry | title = A priest becomes a pirate in the past in Gene Wolfe's latest | url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/23/RVOBTSSJR.DTL&type=books | work = San Francisco Chronicle | date = 2007-12-23 | accessdate = 2007-12-29