Drawing on the rich and turbulent history of the opening of the Canadian West around the turn of the century, and on the diaries, letters and stories of his parents brothers and sisters, the late Francis X. Atherton has fashioned a richly textured novel, based on the exploits and adventures of one remarkable family -- a family who helped to create a nation. This is the story of Alice Heffernon, whose life as a well brought up young Englishwoman is utterly transformed by her marriage. Here, too, is the story of her adventurous and restless husband, Joe Atherton: athlete, actor, printer, journalist, publisher and pioneer. Together with their children, they abandon the civilized comforts of England, to begin a new life, and build a new society. Tuppence H'Penny Is A Nickel brings the manners and mores of the Victorian era to life, both in the United Kingdom and the Canadian West. It is a joyful and exuberant chronicle of a time and a way of life long gone.