The Pretender turns a Tudor footnote into a fantastic flesh‑and‑blood story that I absolutely loved.
Jo Harkin takes Lambert Simnel – raised as the peasant boy John Collan, polished up as a princeling, briefly crowned in Dublin as Edward VI- and makes his world feel solid under your boots.
The politics, the hunger, the etiquette drills, the annoying town goal and mud – all of it lands with the weight of real lives being lived.
The main character is fantastic. John/Lambert is brave, flawed, and so human – a lad who learns to bow and scheme without losing the country boy he once was.
There are a host of other characters but one that stands out is Joan, who steals every scene she’s in. Politically savvy, morally complicated, occasionally murderous, she pushes the plot and Lambert’s herself.
But Harkin’s realism is the secret sauce. Court intrigue reads like a workplace with sharper knives. The prose is confident and unshowy, with enough colour to paint the scene without drowning it in fancy brocade.
It’s a long novel, and the middle third eases off the throttle. Those chapters where alliances are built and tested – especially around Burgundy and the Irish court – can feel slow. But the careful groundwork pays dividends in the final stretch, when titles, loyalties, and identities collide.
It’s sweeping, smart, and grounded historical fiction with heart. For fans of Mantel and O’Farrell. I’d give it 4 solid stars, with bonus points if you enjoy a slow burn that earns its ending
– Kate Toon
