The Pretender: 'A frontrunner for historical fiction book of the year' - The Times

— —

Jo Harkin

The Pretender

'A frontrunner for historical fiction book of the year' - The Times

Jo Harkin

Double Rewards

$32.99

Paperback

In stock
Ready to ship

QTY:

English

Bloomsbury
01 May 2025

Fiction & Literature; Historical fiction; Fiction: special features

Earn $10 Reward Vouchers

Wolf Hall meets Demon Copperhead in a sharply ambitious, brilliantly imagined and hugely entertaining story of intrigue, deceit, revenge and ambition

‘An absolute delight … Funny, moving, filthy and original … A frontrunner for historical fiction book of the year’ The Times ‘A vivid, transporting feat of imagination’ Maggie Shipstead ‘Witty, poignant, wildly engaging, and with a huge heart - I loved it’ Sarah Waters ‘Brilliantly buoyant, clever, funny, original, vivid, witty’ Joanna Quinn ‘The Pretender has everything: history richly drawn, amazing characterisation, humour, wit, vigour and bravery’ Emma Stonex ‘I found myself laughing out loud at the sheer brilliance of Harkin’s sentences’ Victoria MacKenzie

Kill the pretender. Do not let it be known that there was a pretender to kill.

The year is 1483 and England is in peril. The much-despised Richard III is not long for the throne, and the man who will become Henry VII stands poised to snatch the crown for himself. But for twelve-year-old John Collan, living in a remote village with his widowed father, these matters seem far away.

But history has other plans for John.

Stolen from his family, exiled – first to Oxford, then to Burgundy, and then Ireland – and apprenticed to a series of unscrupulous political operators, he finds himself groomed for power; not as John Collan, but as Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick – and rightful heir to the throne.

Far from home at the Irish court, preparing for a war that will see him become king or die trying, John has just his wits – and the slippery counsel of his host’s daughter, the unconventional Joan – to navigate the choppy waters ahead.

Seething with revenge and machination, sparkling with wit and humanity, and roaring with adventure and bravado, The Pretender is the captivating true story of a young man tossed into the chaos of history as it happens.

‘Wickedly funny… A work of genius, a wellspring of laughter and sorrow, a feat of time travel, and a feast of language' Karen Russell ‘Raw, beautiful and true ... I loved it’ Leah Redmond Chang ‘An absolute thumper … Funny and filthy and brave and brilliant’ Marianne Levy ‘Superb, exhilarating and heartbreaking’ Linda Porter ‘I couldn't put it down’ Tracy Borman

By: Jo Harkin
Imprint: Bloomsbury
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 232mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 38mm
Weight: 561g
ISBN: 9781526678355
ISBN 10: 1526678357
Pages: 464
Publication Date: 01 May 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Jo Harkin studied literature at university. She daydreamed her way through various jobs in her twenties before becoming a full-time writer. Her debut novel Tell Me an Ending was a New York Times book of the year. She lives in Berkshire, England.

Reviews for The Pretender: 'A frontrunner for historical fiction book of the year' - The Times

I blazed through full of wonder and admiration ... the writing is searingly confident, the sense of time and place dizzyingly good, the dialogue ribald and the description elegant ... I loved every single page ... The Pretender has everything: history richly drawn, amazing characterisation, humour, wit, vigour and bravery. It's magnificent -- EMMA STONEX Raw, beautiful and true ... I loved it -- LEAH REDMOND CHANG Jo Harkin is a unique voice. In this superb imagining of the life of the Pretender, Lambert Simnel, she takes us to the heart of early Tudor England. At turns exhilarating and heartbreaking, it is a wonderful historical novel -- LINDA PORTER Praise for Jo Harkin: Pure pleasure * THE TIMES * Extraordinary, gripping, inventive ... I'll never forget it -- EMMA STONEX Incredibly nicely written ... Jo Harkin writes really well about human beings. I really enjoyed it -- MARIAN KEYES Sharply, beautifully written * NEW YORK TIMES * Intriguing, frightening, witty and humane * WALL STREET JOURNAL * Suspenseful, richly imagined, and brimming with compassion ... A feat of ingenious, intricate world-building -- JESSAMINE CHAN