The Pretender

A sweeping historical novel in the vein of Hilary Mantel and Maggie OΓÇÖFarrell set during the time of the TudorsΓÇÖ ascent. The Pretender tells the story of Lambert Simnel,who was raised in obscurity as a peasant boy to protect his safetybelieved to be the heir to the throne occupied by Richard IIIand briefly crownedat the age of tenas King Edward VIone of the last of the Plantagenets. In 1480 John CollanΓÇÖs greatest anxiety is how to circumvent the villageΓÇÖs 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 Collannot the son of Will Collan but the son of the long-deceased Duke of Clarenceand has been hidden in the countryside after a brotherly rift over the crownΓÇöand because Richard III has a habit of disappearing his nephews. Removed from his humble originssent to Oxford to be educated in a manner befitting the throneΓÇÖs rightful heirJohn is put into play by his masterslearning the rules of etiquette in Burgundy and the machinations of the court in Irelandwhere he encounters the intractable Joanthe delightfully strong-willed and manipulative daughter of his Irish patronsa girl imbued with both extraordinary political savvy and occasional murderous tendencies. Joan has two paths available herΓÇömarry or become a nun. LambertΓÇÖs 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. Inspired by a footnote to historyΓÇöthe true story of the little-known Simnelwho was a figurehead of the 1487 Yorkist rebellion and ended up working as a spy in the court of King Henry VIIΓÇöThe Pretender is historical fiction at its finesta grippingexuberantrollicking portrait of British monarchy and life within the courtwith a cast of unforgettable heroes and villains drawn from fifteenth-century England. A masterful new work from a major new author.