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 ** '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
