Wolf Hall meets Demon Copperhead in a sharply ambitious brilliantly imagined and hugely
entertaining story of intrigue deceit revenge and ambition **NAMED AS BEST HISTORICAL
FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE SUNDAY TIMES** **PICKED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025 BY THE
GUARDIAN SUNDAY TIMES DAILY MAIL AND THE I ** **SHORTLISTED FOR THE WINSTON GRAHAM
HISTORICAL PRIZE** 'Wickedly funny ... the filthy clever immersive picaresque you didn't
know you needed' Guardian The best fiction of 2025 'I read it with the dedicated fervour of
a kid discovering literature for the first time' Yael van der Wouden 'Funny moving filthy
and original' The Times 'So alive I felt Harkin might be a time traveller' Maggie Shipstead
'The most enjoyable historical novel I've read in years' Spectator
________________________________________ 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. **Praise for The Pretender ** 'A brainy heartfelt delight' Guardian 50 hottest
books to read now 'Witty poignant wildly engaging and with a huge heart' Sarah Waters
'Touching and hilarious' The Times 80 best books to take on holiday 'Like a Plantagenet
Adrian Mole ' Jenny Colgan 'A rollicking account of a befuddled boy's pillar-to-post existence
as a political pawn' New York Times 'The real deal - nimble vibrant playful and daring'
Kiran Millwood Hargrave 'Ambitious mischievous and brilliantly written' Daily Mail 'I
blazed through full of wonder and admiration ' Emma Stonex
