The Pretender

<p><b><i>Wolf Hall </i>meets <i>Demon Copperhead</i> in a sharply ambitious, brilliantly imagined and hugely entertaining story of intrigue, deceit, revenge and ambition</b><br><br>1483.<br>The English throne is in peril.<br>Peasant boy and pretender John Collan is faced with two options.<br>a) Become king<br>b) Die trying<br>What could possibly go wrong?<br><br><b>**WATERSTONES FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH**</b><br><b>**<i>THE TIMES</i> TOP TEN BESTSELLER**<br>**NAMED AS BEST HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE <i>SUNDAY TIMES</i>**<br>**PICKED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025 BY THE <i>GUARDIAN</i>,<i> SUNDAY TIMES</i>, <i>DAILY MAIL</i>, AND THE <i>I</i>**</b><br><b>**SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE**<br></b><b>**SHORTLISTED FOR THE WINSTON GRAHAM HISTORICAL PRIZE**</b><br><br><b>Seething with revenge and machination, sparkling with wit and humanity, and roaring with adventure and bravado, <i>The Pretender </i>is the captivating true story of a young man tossed into the chaos of history as it happens.</b><br><br><i>________________________________________</i><br><br><b>‘A bold and brilliant comedy of royal intrigue’</b> <i>Guardian</i><br><b>‘Funny, moving, filthy and original’ </b><i>The Times</i><br><b>‘So alive I felt Harkin might be a time traveller’ </b>Maggie Shipstead<br><b>‘I read it with the dedicated fervour of a kid discovering literature for the first time’ </b>Yael van der Wouden<br><b>‘The most enjoyable historical novel I’ve read in years’ </b><i>Spectator</i><br><b>‘Witty, poignant, wildly engaging, and with a huge heart’ </b>Sarah Waters<br><b>‘Like a Plantagenet <i>Adrian Mole</i>’ </b>Jenny Colgan<br><b>‘A rollicking account of a befuddled boy’s pillar-to-post existence as a political pawn’ </b><i>New York Times</i><br><b>‘The real deal – nimble, vibrant, playful, and daring’ </b>Kiran Millwood Hargrave<br><b>‘Ambitious, mischievous and brilliantly written’</b> <i>Daily Mail</i><br><b>‘I blazed through full of wonder and admiration</b><b>’ </b>Emma Stonex</p>