{"product_id":"the-pretender-isbn-9780593689165","title":"The Pretender","description":"\u003cb\u003eSet in the tumultuous period of the Tudors' ascent, \u003ci\u003eThe Pretender \u003c\/i\u003ebrings to life the little-known story of Lambert Simnel. From humble beginnings as a peasant boy, Lambert's life takes an astonishing turn when, at just ten years old, he becomes a claimant to the English throne as one of the last of the Plantagenet line. As Lambert navigates the treacherous waters of royal intrigue and court life, complex themes of identity, power, and destiny unfold, weaving a tapestry of ambition and survival in a world where the stakes couldn't be higher.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A . . . transporting feat of imagination and storytelling.”—Maggie Shipstead, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling-author of \u003ci\u003eGreat Circle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1480 John Collan’s greatest anxiety is how to circumvent the village’s devil goat on his way to collect water. But the arrival of a well-dressed stranger from London upends his life forever: John is not John Collan, not the son of Will Collan but Lambert Simnel, the son of the long-deceased Duke of Clarence, and has been hidden in the countryside after a brotherly rift over the crown—and because Richard III has a habit of disappearing his nephews.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRemoved from his humble origins and sent to Oxford to be educated in a manner befitting the throne’s rightful heir, Lambert is put into play by his masters. He learns the rules of etiquette in Burgundy and the machinations of the court in Ireland, where he encounters the intractable Joan, the delightfully strong-willed and manipulative daughter of his Irish patrons, a girl imbued with both extraordinary political savvy and occasional murderous tendencies. Joan has two paths available to her—marry or become a nun. Lambert’s choices are similarly stark: he will either become king or die in battle. Together they form an alliance that will change the fate of the English monarchy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInspired by a footnote to history—the true story of the little-known Simnel, who was a figurehead of the 1487 Yorkist rebellion and ended up working as a spy in the court of King Henry VII—\u003ci\u003eThe Pretender\u003c\/i\u003e is historical fiction at its finest, a gripping, exuberant, rollicking portrait of British monarchy and life within the court, with a cast of unforgettable heroes and villains drawn from fifteenth-century England. A masterful work from a major new author“This sympathetic and brilliantly executed book beguiles to the very end.\" \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Pretender \u003c\/i\u003eis a rollicking account of a befuddled boy’s pillar-to-post existence as a political pawn.” \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—The New York Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“[\u003ci\u003eThe Pretender\u003c\/i\u003e] contains some of the most authentic writing in a child’s voice I’ve ever read. And while the book is a deeply engaging read, it underlines profoundly the experience of those who must try to forge and keep their identity without agency, caught in the powerful maw of history.” \u003cb\u003e—NPR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A poignant odyssey.\" \u003ci\u003e—\u003cb\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Pretender\u003c\/i\u003e reimagines how a child was plucked out of obscurity to be groomed as a royal during the tumultuous Tudor era. Villains! Intrigue! Tons of humor! This is historical fiction at its finest.”\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e —Real Simple\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Fantastically accomplished. . . . A bold and brilliant comedy of royal intrigue. . . . There’s a deep love for literature here, and a desire to showcase the formation of the late-medieval mind, which elevates \u003ci\u003eThe Pretender\u003c\/i\u003e above other novels about this period. . . . Scattered with fine knobbly period language and witty dialogue, and this stylish delivery brings with it considerable substance.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Funny, moving, and filthy in equal measure.\" —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times \u003c\/i\u003e(London)\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Dazzling. . . . \u003ci\u003eThe Pretender \u003c\/i\u003eis a stylish, profane, hilarious read, and Harkin is the proverbial writer to watch.\" \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Minnesota Star Tribune\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“What Jo Harkin has accomplished in \u003ci\u003eThe Pretender \u003c\/i\u003eleft me awestruck on every page. I had no idea that a medieval historical novel could be this wickedly funny, this timely and timeless. A work of genius, a wellspring of laughter and sorrow, a feat of time-travel, and a feast of language.” \u003cb\u003e—Karen Russell, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Antidote\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Pretender\u003c\/i\u003e is a vivid, transporting feat of imagination and storytelling, so alive I felt Jo Harkin might be a time traveler.” \u003cb\u003e—Maggie Shipstead, author of \u003ci\u003eGreat Circle\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“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.” \u003cb\u003e—Sarah Waters, author of \u003ci\u003eFingersmith\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The Pretender \u003c\/i\u003ehad 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.” \u003cb\u003e—Yael van der Wouden, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Safekeep\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Jo Harkin’s writing is consistently original, vivid, and witty. [\u003ci\u003eThe Pretender\u003c\/i\u003e is] \u003ci\u003eGlorious Exploits \u003c\/i\u003emeets \u003ci\u003eWolf Hall\u003c\/i\u003e—and I completely loved it.” \u003cb\u003e—Joanna Quinn, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Whalebone Theatre\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e“The Pretender\u003c\/i\u003e is the real deal—nimble, vibrant, playful, and daring. It pulses with life. I loved it.” \u003cb\u003e—Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Mercies\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“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. . . . \u003ci\u003eThe Pretender\u003c\/i\u003e has everything: history richly drawn, amazing characterization, humor, wit, vigor, and bravery. It's magnificent.” \u003cb\u003e—Emma Stonex, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Lamplighters\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Harkin skillfully evokes the foreboding and intrigue that surrounds the throne with rough-hewn language and fistfuls of bawdy humor. . . . [a] rollicking saga of royalty, loyalty, lechery and treachery.\" \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Harkin’s imaginative take on a calculated hoax in English history and portrait of a curious young personage is a wildly entertaining and satirical comedy full of interesting characters.” \u003ci\u003e—\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“This razor-sharp historical is on par with Hilary Mantel's \u003ci\u003eWolf Hall\u003c\/i\u003e.\" \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Publishers Weekly \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eJO HARKIN’s first novel, \u003ci\u003eTell Me an Ending\u003c\/i\u003e, was published in 2022. She lives in Berkshire, England.One\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e. . . Was this the first thing he wrote of his own?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eI am John Collan\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003etoday in the yere 1483 I will defeat the goat.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eIn the name of honnour and glory to god highest \u0026amp; for reson that it knocked me in the mud again today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u0026amp; has TRODDEN churlishly over my back\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ehas despoiled\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ean insult that cannot be borne.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn has made a plan of battle. According to the ancient art of the famous Vegetius, who set out in his book how the Roman Empire toppled and suborned all enemies. According to his brother Tom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTom did not read that book, but he told John what he was told was in it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTom had a favorite military stratagem of his own. This was the goose trap. He’d stand in front of something and call, Little John! Oh, little Johnny John John! You are a pink pig’s arsehole, a hairy ball sack, a shitbeetle—­and then, when John, sore wroth, would charge at him, Tom would dodge and John would run into that thing he was standing in front of, which was usually a cow shit. And then Tom would shout: Goose trap!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNow Tom is gone to be an apprentice, and John is goose no longer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn is a general.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e. . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe wise general uses the ground to his advantage when laying his snare. He positions his light infantry (himself) ahead of the enemy’s advancing cavalry (the goat), with the stream at his rear. From this position, the infantry will make a feint attack with an artillery of pebbles. The cavalry, incensed, will charge—­whereupon the infantry will leap up, take hold of a willow tree branch, and swing to safety above the water. The cavalry, unable to halt his charge, will plunge headlong into the stream, and be thusly carried away, probably ending up in the sea.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eToppled and suborned.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd the wise general shall obtain the victory and pass unmolested through the farm to fetch water and weed the herbs and feed the chickens ever after: praise be to God.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn walks with his water bucket and a bag of pebbles toward the stream, whistling.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere are primroses on the bright grass edging the mud tracks, which have dried and cracked. The pigs trample through the richly fetid midden. Bluebells in the wood; wood pigeons flapping on top of each other; blossom crowded onto tree branches, silky, lavish, deeply pink. Above it all, the sky a flawless blue, intensely perfect, like a lid that could be flipped, to show God looking down, saying: Go forward, my son.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis spring you are a man.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis spring you show the goat who is master.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn goes into the kitchen, a small room leaning against the main house like a laborer taking a nap. It’s hot in here, and smells of baking bread, meat cooking in the iron pot above the fire, and a bitter scorch of something starting to burn, because Jennott, as she always tells them, is a head dairymaid and not a fucking cook.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn stands in the door with the water. Jennott’s growling at the bread, which she shovels out of the oven and piles onto the table. The rising heat waves the lines of light and dim that divide the room. She turns around and sees John.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Old Gaspard got you again, did he?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHer pretense is that the goat is French. She mislikes the French. They killed her dad.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe takes the water from him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“You’re covered in scratches. And so wet. Did you fall into the stream?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn isn’t going to discuss military strategy with plebeians, but calling Jennott a plebeian might get him one of her blind­ingly fast smacks around the head, so he doesn’t say anything.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“He knows you’re frightened, that’s what it is,” she says. “You’ve got to steel your balls, stand up straight, and stare him out.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“You can’t stare something out when its eyes go in different directions.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJennott laughs. She picks up a loaf of bread and puts it on her head, tucks her lower lip under her teeth, and says, “Who am I?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Sir Nicholas,” says John.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSir Nicholas the parish priest and John’s father, Will, are enemies. In the past, John’s dad said some heretical-­flavored things, and Sir Nicholas accused him of being a secret Lollard and threatened to get him burned.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd it’s true, said Will Collan, that my grandfather was a Lollard who didn’t see why knavish priests like Sir Nicholas should be called Sir any more than a cobbler should, or why they should take the confession of honest men, nor their sweated-­for money, neither—­and then he joined the revolt of the peasants, and was killed just before his own son, my dad, was born.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWill doesn’t hide his bitterness when he says it. But it’s not for any turdly priest to accuse him of sympathies. So Will Collan put manure through Sir Nicholas’s windows. The act was anonymous but also, in a small village, completely nonymous, or whatever the word is. (John, small village boy, is often short of words.)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Correct,” says Jennott. “The old fart-­smeller. That’s what he does in confession. Smells farts.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Is that lawful to say?” asks John.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“It is if you cross yourself after and say, ‘Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,’ ” Jennott says, and, as ever, John can’t tell if she’s joking.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThings John Collan’s father shouts at him in the daytime:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eFor God’s sakes John pick up your feet stand straight stop bothering the women stop bothering the cows stop bothering Jennott where in the holy hell were you don’t wipe your mouth on your sleeve don’t blaspheme quieten down stand straight how many times where the devil is he now—­\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThings his father says at night:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eGet to bed my boy, sleep sweetly.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e(And a pat, on the head.)","brand":"Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233730998501,"sku":"NP9780593689165","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593689165.jpg?v=1767741059","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-pretender-isbn-9780593689165","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}