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**Selected as a book of summer 2025 by the Guardian, Daily Mail and the Sunday Times**
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 bold and brilliant comedy of royal intrigue’ Guardian, Book of the day
‘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
‘Funny and devastating. I’m having a fantastic time reading it’ Yael van der Wouden
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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
In stock
The Pretender is a vivid, transporting feat of imagination and storytelling, so alive I felt Jo Harkin might be a time traveller
MAGGIE SHIPSTEAD
Billed as “Demon Copperhead meets Wolf Hall“, this historical rollercoaster has a charm all of its own … A brainy, heartfelt delight
GUARDIAN, Summer reading: the 50 hottest books to read now
Funny and it’s devastating. I’m having a fantastic time reading it.
GUARDIAN, Perfect holiday reading – YAEL VAN DER WOUDEN
The Pretender is an absolute delight, at turns funny, moving, filthy and original. Simnel might not win the English crown, but this is a frontrunner for historical fiction book of the year
THE TIMES, The best historical fiction of 2025 – so far
Fantastically accomplished … A bold and brilliant comedy of royal intrigue … There’s a deep love for literature here which elevates The Pretender above other novels about this period
GUARDIAN, Book of the day – IMOGEN HERMES GOWER
Ambitious, mischievous and brilliantly written, her boldly drawn characters and their reckless, ruthless aspirations make for a hugely entertaining read
DAILY MAIL, Best books for this summer
Touching and hilarious … Harkin has immense sympathy for John as he tries to figure out who he really is
THE TIMES, 80 best books to take on holiday this summer
Ambitious, mischievous and well-written, Harkin's stand-out second novel's boldly drawn characters and their ruthless aspirations make for an entertaining read
DAILY MAIL
Harkin has loosely based this sparklingly original historical novel on the real life of Lambert Simnel, a pretender to the throne during the early years of the reign of Henry VII, and it’s funny, moving, and filthy in equal measure
THE TIMES, The best books of 2025 so far
Like a Plantagenet Adrian Mole … Funny, touching, brilliant, unputdownable
JENNY COLGAN
A magnificent imagining … There is an extraordinary energy about this novel … Simnel is a glorious creation … This is the most enjoyable historical novel I’ve read in years
SPECTATOR
When a novel is described as Wolf Hall meets Demon Copperhead, you pay attention. Remarkably, The Pretender also lives up to that impossible comparison. This 15th century tale’s rich yarn takes in the life of the ordinary young man who is groomed for power and ends up as heir to the throne
i news, The best new books to read in April 2025
When a novel is described as Wolf Hall meets Demon Copperhead, you pay attention. Remarkably, The Pretender also lives up to that impossible comparison
i paper
A brilliantly buoyant, funny, clever novel … Takes us from rural Oxfordshire to the great palaces of Europe, showing us how history is shaped by strong characters and convincing lies, while Jo Harkin’s writing is consistently original, vivid, and witty. It’s Glorious Exploits meets Wolf Hall – and I completely loved it
JOANNA QUINN
A brilliant piece of historical storytelling that’s also gorgeously irreverent, contemporary and fun. Witty, poignant, wildly engaging, and with a huge heart – I loved it
SARAH WATERS
A novel full of laugh out loud moments … Harkin's exuberant novel brings to life one of the stranger notes in late-medieval history … Fantastically irreverent … This sympathetic and brilliantly executed book beguiles to the very end
WALL STREET JOURNAL
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
Jo Harkin mixes fact and fiction for this deliciously heady romp that sparkles with witty verbiage. It also features – at its very core – a love story for the ages
THE CRACK
| Weight | 0.58 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 242 × 162 × 54 cm |
