Tunnel Through the Deeps

Tunnel Through the Deeps, also known as A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah!, is a 1972 alternate history and science fiction novel by American author Harry Harrison. The story first appeared in serial form in Analog magazine, starting with the April 1972 issue. Its name comes from a planned submerged floating-tube pontoon bridge and tunnel that would cross the Atlantic Ocean.

The plot is set in a world where the United States lost the Revolutionary War and George Washington was executed for treason. As a result, in 1973, the American colonies remain part of the British Empire. The point of divergence from our timeline occurred much earlier: on July 16, 1212, when the Moors won the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. This prevented Spain from unifying, kept an Islamic presence on the Iberian Peninsula, and meant Spain could not fund Christopher Columbus’s 1492 voyage. Instead, John Cabot discovered America a few years later.

The main character is Captain Augustine Washington, a descendant of George Washington, who lives under the stigma of his ancestor’s treason. He teams up with Sir Isambard Brassey-Brunel, a descendant of the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, to build a link between Britain and its North American colony. Their partnership sours over Augustine’s romance with Sir Isambard’s young daughter, Iris, and disagreements about engineering methods. After various adventures, the two reconcile on Sir Isambard’s deathbed, and the lovers marry. Once the tunnel is finished, the American colonies gain independence.

The novel features cameos by Detective Richard Tracy, as well as characters named “Lord” Amis and “Reverend” Aldiss. An expert who favors mechanical Babbage computers over electronic ones, named Arthur C. Clarke, appears in connection with a suborbital rocket.

The book received multiple reviews, including those by Richard E. Geis (Science Fiction Review, August 1972), Lester del Rey (Worlds of If, September–October 1972), P. Schuyler Miller (Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, October 1972), John Bowles (Vector, no. 64), George Hay (Foundation, no. 4, July 1973), Lynne Holdom (Science Fiction Review, November 1975), David Wingrove (Vector, no. 78), Ben Ostrander (The Space Gamer, December 1975–January 1976), an uncredited review in Vector (no. 214, 2000), Armin Möhle (Phantastisch!, no. 62, in German), Christian Hoffmann (Phantastisch!, no.