The Ha-Ha - by Jennifer Dawson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A prizewinning, semi-autobiographical debut novel that explores a young woman's struggle with mental illness at Oxford University in the 1950s--for readers of Ottessa Moshfegh, Melissa Broder, and Sally Rooney.

At a tea party at Oxford University in the 1950s, earnest undergraduates in floral dresses clink cups, discussing their studies, sports, and summer balls. But to one student, Josephine, they are grotesquely transformed: she is sitting among ominous armadillos. Then, the laughter comes. As she is engulfed in mirthless hysterics, her college has no choice but to send her away.

Since her mother's death, Josephine's reality seems a badly painted canvas, viewed through the wrong end of a telescope. It is a relief to find a sense of belonging, for once, within the mental institution where she is confined. But, eventually, she must reintegrate with society. Through a transformative encounter with a fellow patient, a return to real life seems possible.

Originally published in 1961, The Ha-Ha was met with critical acclaim and belongs on the shelf alongside Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. Praised as "luminous" by The New York Times and "a singular, elegant novel" by The Guardian, and with a new introduction by Melissa Broder, The Ha-Ha offers a moving and timeless perspective on mental illness and coming of age.

Review Quotes

"How can a novel so quiet and unsentimental be so moving? The sadness is right there, the beauty sneaks up on you. It took my breath away." --Meg Mason, author of Sorrow and Bliss

"Literature is experiential, literature is personal, and Jennifer Dawson's The Ha-Ha, which displays her rare ability to legibly and vividly convey the interior workings of a very unique mind and spirit, is a magnificent literary experience." --from the introduction by Melissa Broder, author of Death Valley

"Highly original and deeply relatable, The Ha-Ha is a radiant and powerful work that shines an unflinching light on the darker places." --Claire-Louise Bennett, author of Pond

"Some novels alight in the glimmering interstice between enthralling and necessary. This is one of them." --Claire Kilroy, author of Soldier, Sailor

"An unsettling read, poetic and sharp... a fascinating exploration of mental illness." --Catherine Cho, author of Inferno

"Such a brilliant book, and so timeless... A short, singular, elegant novel." --Guardian

"Cool, short, tender and occasionally as prettily ruthless as the impact of a stiletto heel." --Tatler

"A cool, clever, well-constructed novel about the nature of reality... Miss Dawson writes very well indeed, with remarkable calmness and detachment... brilliant."
--Penelope Mortimer, Sunday Times

"Remarkably talented... Her heroine is a convincing and sympathetic character, and when her mind begins to shift into the nightmare perspective of schizophrenia the writing creates an atmosphere of quiet terror." --Observer

About the Author

Jennifer Dawson (1929-2000) studied at Oxford, where she suffered a breakdown and spent several months in a hospital. After graduating in 1954, Dawson worked as a teacher in a convent in France, a welfare worker in London's East End, and a social worker in a psychiatric hospital. Her experience both as a mental health professional and patient formed the basis for The Ha-Ha, which won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was adapted for the stage and broadcast by the BBC. Over her lifetime, Dawson wrote six more novels, a collection of short stories, and coauthored a children's book.