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- The Pretender
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Description
'An absolute delight … Funny, moving, filthy and original … A frontrunner for historical fiction book of the year' The Times
'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.
Product details
| Published | 09 Apr 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Paperback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 464 |
| ISBN | 9781526678362 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Publishing |
| Dimensions | 198 x 129 mm |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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The Pretender is a vivid, transporting feat of imagination and storytelling, so alive I felt Jo Harkin might be a time traveller
MAGGIE SHIPSTEAD
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Wickedly funny ... The filthy, clever, immersive picaresque about a pretender to Henry VII's throne that you didn't know you needed
GUARDIAN, The best fiction of 2025
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Clever and wildly entertaining
SUNDAY TIMES, Historical fiction book of the year
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A gripping study of power steeped in both atmosphere and playful wit
i paper, Books of the Year
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There's much fun to be had in Harkin's riotous, mischievous take on a thorny patch in English history ... Funny and furiously imaginative, this is a brilliant debut
DAILY MAIL, Best fiction books of 2025
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The Pretender had me under its spell from the very first page. I read it with the dedicated fervour of a kid discovering literature for the first time - the magic of it, the way it transports you, the way you don't want to say goodbye to the pages as you turn them. I took it with me everywhere for months, I read it on trains and buses and laughed and cried in public many times. A genuinely brilliant voice. I will recommend this to everyone for years to come: to hear what they think, to enrich their lives, and so that they in turn can understand something about me that can only be communicated through the passing on of a good book
YAEL VAN DER WOUDEN
























