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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."… (more)
I picked either the worst or best time in world politics to read a story about the growth of fascism. It is well done though, not too angst-inducing to pick up again when I'd put it down. I appreciate the idea of looking at how easily we can wind up on this road (as of course many have), put into the context of the only fascist system so many people are aware of. I don't know that it was ...enough... to stay in my mind forever, but I'm interested to see how it's developed in the following books. ( )
Loved this, an Agatha Christie style murder set in an alternate history - what a great premise and it really paid off with the country house and wide cast of characters but the sinister undertones beneath the jolly hockey sticks were what really set it apart. Found the ending a bit of a cliff hanger - not sure if it really works as a stand-alone, even though the murderer is revealed, but perhaps it isn't meant to. It doesn't matter anyway as I am looking forward to the next one... ( )
I really loved this book. It does such a good job of showing an England that is not as strongly anti-Hitler, is deeply antisemitic, and has fascist impulses. This book has aged very well. It is a tale that has become that much scarier given the current political situation of countries moving further and further to the right in places like the UK and the USA, where I live. The murder mystery element to this book is also very well done. It does not feel separate from the political but another piece of that puzzle and it also serves as a way to see how this England is different from our own. I like that this book is not super explicit about the changes that make this an alternate history novel and that the reader has to pick up on the changes through the context of the story. I really liked our two main characters, Lucy and Carmichael. They felt very fleshed out and extremely realistic. I was especially drawn to Carmichael as I found his struggle to keep up his morals while protecting himself and his loved ones to be very interesting. I have a lot of books I own that I need to read so it will probably be a little while before I pick up the next book in this series but I am definitely very interested to see what happens next in this world. ( )
—W.H. Auden, "Lullaby (Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love)" (1937)
All the brass instruments and big drums in the world cannot turn "God Save the King" into a good tune, but on the very rare occasions when it is sung in full it does spring to life in the two lines:
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks! And, in fact, I had always imagined that this second verse is habitually left out because of a vague suspicion on the part of the Tories that these lines refer to themselves.
—George Orwell, "As I Please" (December 31, 1943)
Dedication
This novel is for everyone who has ever studied any monstrosity of history, with the serene satisfaction of being horrified while knowing exactly what was going to happen, rather like studying a dragon anatomised upon a table, and then turning around and finding the dragon's present-day relations standing close by, alive and ready to bite.
First words
It started when David came in from the lawn absolutely furious.
Quotations
Last words
Carmichael waved once to the child and walked away up the dirty London street.
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."
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Haiku summary
Makes peace with Hitler, / Andʻs killed, (but not FOR that.) Plot. / Alternate Past. Flight.
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"Farthing" Group Discussion
Wikipedia in English (2)
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