Wow. This book was a lot. Did quite a lot of it go over my head? Yes. I’m terrible with royal history and keeping track of titles and relationships and the nitty gritty of it all.
This book was hilarious and dense and twisty- a really unique take on Tudor history that I may not be the ideal reader for, unfortunately. The number of characters was a lot to keep track of and the profanity seemed a little over the top. But at the same time, I can recognize and respect the amount work that went into the creation of this incredible piece of historical fiction.

Take a little known tidbit of Tudor history, blend it with a bit of humor, and an endlessly endearing protagonist, and what you’ve got is a totally unique take on historical dramas.

The Pretender follows timid farm boy John Collan aka Lambert Simnel (whose greatest nemesis is the village goat) who turns out to (maybe) be the hidden away son of the long-dead Duke of Clarence, and who has the potential to be King Edward VI of England, one of the last of the Plantagenets. Much to his surprise and chagrin.

This is no boring, historical tome. Harkin weaves in humor and such vivid, human-based world-building, that you’d be hard-pressed to be bored for even a moment of this story.

Whether you’re a current or former or potential Tudor history nerd, this should 100% make it onto your TBR.

The star of the book is John/Lambert/Edward, who is one of the most endearing protagonists I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. He’s eager to please, eager to learn, and perpetually soft in a world that demands he be conniving and ambitious. Yes, his name does change throughout the book, and yes, it is a wonder he can even remember what he’s supposed to be called. But he truly feels so beautifully human throughout. The side characters are fascinating (particularly his brilliant, murderous love interest Joan), but it’s Lambert that I have a feeling will stick with me for a long, long time.

Thank you to Knopf and Netgalley for the gifted e-arc for review!

Inspired by true events, Jo Harkin’s sophomore effort, “The Pretender,” is set in the 15th century, at the tail end of England’s Middle Ages and during the reign of King Richard III. When the tale opens, it is 1483 and we are introduced to ten-year-old John Collan who lives on a farm with his widowed father. John misses his two older brothers who have left the farm to begin their apprenticeships, and he is terrified of Gaspard, the unruly goat. His life is upended when his father tells him that a wealthy benefactor has hired a tutor for John so that he can become a scholar and attend university.

John is collected by this mysterious benefactor and Maister Richard, a scholar and a priest (who is enamored of his own reflection in the mirror), who will oversee John’s education. John, now referred to as Lambert, is told that he is the son of the late Duke of Clarence, one of King Richard’s brothers. One of Clarence’s schemes was to send away his infant son to live as a common boy, so Clarence’s men brought the baby to the Collan’s farm in the hopes that he will survive King Richard’s propensity to murder potential rivals for the throne. Lambert is told that he is actually Edward Plantagenet, the Earl of Warwick, and is in line to the throne after the current king and his progeny.

When a Yorkist revolt against Richard’s successor, Henry VII, fails, Edward’s life is spared because of his tender years. He is given a job in the king’s kitchen where he becomes involved in various court intrigues. “The Pretender” brings to life the tumultuous period of the Tudor’s ascent, and Harkin skillfully creates and conveys that she knows this world. Her tale of a boy whose life is shaped by the whim and caprice of others is serious stuff, but it is laced with ribald humor and the whimsy of a boy whose life has been turned upside down. “The Pretender” is bawdy, irreverent, witty, and surprisingly moving. It is a first rate historical novel that will appeal to fans of Hilary Mantel’s “Wolf Hall” and Maggie O’Farrell’s “Hamnet.” Thank you Knopf and Net Galley for this remarkable feat of storytelling.

The Pretender seemed like something I would be into, but I had a difficult time getting into it. I might come back to it another time, though. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

I took a class about the Tudors this semester where I first learnt about Lambert Simnel and his life, so this book was so good. I loved the atmosphere, the historical background and the precusor to the Tudor dynasty. This was a masterpiece of a book.

Oh what a dream it would be to wake up and find that you are not a peasant with low income and no ability to rise in society as you thought, but are a future king and ruler of a nation. In Tudor England, the dream is more probably a nightmare. The Pretender by Jo Harkin is historical fiction showing just how that situation can happen, utilizing the case of Edward Plantagenet. Despite a slow first few chapters, there is no worry of the reader not grasping the feeling of the time period or those who are important in it. Harkin begins George as a youth and continues with his metamorphosis through a total of four different lives, different names, different locations in order to take him to the king’s palace. With the homes he lives in and the fellow characters within them, we get an idea of the mind frame belonging to the servant, rural elite, courtiers and royalty. In addition we learn of the literature, vocabulary and paranoia in all of England and elsewhere in Europe. Because of the first person nature of Edward’s thoughts and actions, I easily learned so much detail of this time period and the rule of Henry VII. In addition to being somewhat rags to riches, this novel is an overview for those wishing to learn more about one of the Tudor eras and the players and skirmishes within it. Harkin’s writing reminded me why I love historical fiction!

I really enjoy historical novels especially those set during this time period. This book just didn’t resonate for me like I wanted it to. I felt horrible for John and how he went from being a farm boy to learn that he is actually royalty and was hidden away till the time was right for him to possibly take over the throne. His relationship with Joan was just tragic, but realistic. Two people who loved and cared for each other but due to their bloodlines could never be together. This book also followed a couple other characters in their endeavors to help John reclaim his rightful throne, yet the way in which the stories were entwined just got to be to tangled for me as a reader and many times I found myself lost.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Knopf for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

Rounded up from 3.5 stars

This book was incredibly well written, researched, and planned.
It reminded me a lot of the pace of 'The Great' television series about Catherine the Great, how spitting and crude it could be, while also extremely smart and conniving.

It took me a bit to get into, sometimes books about young boys can be frustrating for me, but as the boy grew up and the language got more familiar I really got invested.

A Tudor-era historical fiction from a perspective I've never even heard of before, let alone read about. I have no idea how much of the history is fictionalized and how much comes from facts but I had a great time reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me access to the ARC!

A historical fiction that I think was a first for me to like. At times I hated the writing style, but upon reflection it really worked and I enjoyed it.

I adored Jo Harkin's Tell Me an Ending so I was incredibly excited for the chance to read her newest title, The Pretender, before I knew anything about it.

The Pretender is a very different book from Tell Me an Ending, something I applaud Harkin for because I don't know how she manages to write so well yet so differently in her newest work. The Pretender is straightforward historical fiction, telling the story of a little boy called John, who lives in an English village none the wiser that he is the heir to the throne. One day, a visitor to the village changes all of that and John's life is turned on its head.

Perfectly paced and with incredibly written characters, Harkin manages to put the reader right in the middle of the political machinations and identity crises of the 15th century nobility.

What a captivating read! I chose this book with the intention of diving more into historical fiction, and though it pushed me well beyond my comfort zone, I ended up thoroughly enjoying it. Admittedly, it took me a little while to get into the rhythm of this book. The writing is crafted in a way that mirrors the mindset of the protagonist, John, starting from his childhood. His thoughts and actions are conveyed through simple, child-like prose, and as he grows older and grapples with his right to the throne amidst a tumultuous series of events, the writing shifts to reflect his changing age and the chaos surrounding his life. It’s truly masterful writing that I really came to appreciate.

The plot itself is quite compelling. We watch “John”, continually caught in the political games of allies and rivals alike, each trying to use him for their own gain figure out a potential new life he knows nothing of. It’s a lot for a young boy, only just learning he’s destined for the throne, to handle. As John evolves into Lambert, and later his true identity of Edward, the story unfolds into a rich coming-of-age tale, filled with love, loss, confusion, passion, sorrow, and revenge.

This book is the very definition of a “sweeping saga,” and its bold ambition absolutely pays off. I think anyone who loves historical fiction will enjoy this one!

When your King (Richard III) is slain and you, his supporters, are looking for a way to make the Plantagenet dynasty and House of York last so you can keep all your lands and honors and powers, it's nice to have a mysterious York heir up your sleeve. No matter that there's already one York heir by the same name, held captive for his own good by Henry VII, the Lancastrian Tudor who deposed Richard III. (If this is enough to make your head spin, you may want to brush up on the Wars of the Roses history.)

The Pretender is the story of John Collan/Lambert Simnel/Edward V, the boy who would try to be king as the gears of court grind on. The machinations of the houses of York and Lancaster have already moved the crown back and forth between the two houses, caused lots of bloodshed, imprisonment, seen leaders switch sides, and have engineered the infamous disappearance of the two princes, Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York.

In the newest plot to regain York control, the true nephew of Richard III is not the Edward held by Henry VII in the tower, it's the boy who was placed in hiding by his father, George the Duke of Clarence, when he was very young. The boy, John Collan, is pulled from his surrogate father's house to be taught how to be a true prince in everything but name. Instead, his keepers call him Lambert Simnel. He will only ever take the name Edward when the time is ripe.

As with any of the best historical fiction, this reader enters Lambert's world, helping the reader see the lengths to which the Yorkists extended their reach to retain power, and its effects on those caught up in the web. Lambert's journey takes us from the 15th century farm where he lived his tender years to Oxford, where he quickly learns that his schooling is more torture than pleasure, then to royal houses where he, as Edward, brushes up against the famous and notorious, learning all the while that he is neither farm lad nor royalty -- he exists as a boy in a limbo, faced with deceit and uncertainty no matter which way he turns. I appreciated Jo Harkin's ability to handle John/Lambert/Edward's struggles with identity.

When the pretender plot to seize control of the crown fails, it's no surprise that Lambert takes the brunt of the punishment. It's also not surprising that Henry VII uses the captured boy to weed out Yorkist dissenters. While we readers can sympathize with the boy kitchen boy who is relegated to turning the spit in the royal kitchen's fires, it's harder to do so as he plots revenge on those who took away the few good things in his sorry life.

If you've read the Game of Thrones books, you'll know that George R.R. Martin plucked plot lines from English history. Martin fans will also know that GOT is notorious for unhappy endings, so gird your loins for The Pretender.

Many thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for access to the ARC. I am not compensated for my review.

Thanks to Knopf for the gifted copy. All opinions below are my own.

I love British royal history, particularly the Plantagenet and Tudor eras. This story takes place during the virulent transition between the two ruling families. John is a young boy living on a farm with no idea who he really is, the son of a Duke spirited away as a baby to save his chance at the line of succession. We follow him as he transitions through several identities as he is hidden from the King.

His life goes through so much upheaval and we're with him every step as he immerses himself in literature and history and learns the harsh realities of what it means to be a monarch. He has such innocence and naivety learning time and again the manipulations and guile of those around him. He fears having to go to war and have people die in his name for a cause he's not even sure he believes in. He wonders how it's possible God has chosen him as the rightful king when he himself has not heard those calls. I also really loved the Joan character who went from his foil to his love to the devil on his shoulder.

I really loved having a protagonist at the center of a political novel focused on power who had no real desire for that which was thrust upon him. I actually wonder how different the world would have been had he had a real reign. Would a king with an open, trusting heart have done great things for the country or would he easily have been usurped? We see the world slowly turn him into a bit of a revenge monster and then a worthless footnote.

Thank you so much net galley for allowing me to read this book early in exchange for an honest review

Fans of fifteenth century British historical fiction will love this book. This lengthy story is well researched, and the dialog is very authentic to the time and place. It was a time in history when the royal heirs to the throne in England carried the names of Richard, Edward, or Henry. The ruling families were Plantagenets, Lancasters, Yorks, and Tudors. There were arrests, imprisonments, murders, and beheadings around every corner for treason, or threats to unseat the current monarch. Even fake heirs, or pretenders, were brought forward by ambitious and greedy men looking to elevate themselves in the royal hierarchy and replace the king.

Even though I devoured all of the Plantagenet and Tudor novels by Philippa Gregory and the Thomas Cromwell series by Hilary Mantel, I continually struggled with reading THIS book and almost gave up on it a number of times. I was intrigued by the route that John/Lambert/Edward/Simnel's life took and the mystery surrounding all of the treachery. However, I found that there were way too many characters, and the weighty dialog was filled with too much "bawdy" humor and risqué language.

I ultimately felt that I was not the right reader for this book. Luckily, many other reviewers saw this book differently and I would encourage prospective readers to definitely check out their reviews, but to be watchful for spoilers.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Knopf publishing for giving me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Lots to love about The Pretender by Jo Harkin. Historical fiction set in the drama that is the Yorks vs. the Lancasters, the rise of the Tudors, King Richard III, and the princes in the tower. A period already rich with intrigue and mystery, The Pretender fits in perfectly.

George, the Duke of Clarence, brother to Richard III and Edward IV, may have swapped his son (an heir to the throne) and hidden him out in the country for safekeeping. Harkin takes off running with this premise and introduces us to ten year old John Collan, in fierce battle with his nemesis, a village goat.

We experience the journey through John's eyes as his lineage is revealed and he's prepared for the crown. There's scheming, there's adventure, there's subterfuge, there's revenge. We see John / Lambert Simnal / Edward VI grow into each character as his handlers get him ready. All the while, he's struggling with his identity, falling in love, trying to fit into the role (like any teenager).

It's fun to imagine how this could have happened, with The Pretender's plot intertwined with historical events and figures: Richard III's defeat by Henry Tudor and the subsequent whack-a-mole game the Tudors were forced to play with the myriad of would-be usurpers and pretenders. The last gasps of the Yorks unable to accept Henry VII as their king. The spies in the highest reaches of the court.

This isn't Wolf Hall but it is more accessible!

My thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for the Advance Reader Copy. (pub date 4/22/2025)

This story was fascinating to me. I really enjoyed how the different parts of John's life was broken in to his different "identities." It was such an interesting fictional story about an individual who actually lived and there were so many moments that I stopped to look things up to see how they really happened. Such a fascinating time period. I felt for John throughout the entire book. The humor in this was also very unique, which I appreciated.

"Kill the pretender. Do not let it be known that there was a pretender to kill."

If you think you know the story of Lambert Simnel, known as a pretender to the English throne and yet just a footnote in history, think again. And if you've never heard that name before... be prepared to be immersed in an exhilarating tale of betrayal, the struggle for power, and a young man's role in the Yorkist rebellion against King Henry VII. Deftly mixing bawdy language and royal splendor, witty humor and a melancholy search for self, love story and revenge plot, Jo Harkin excels at her first foray into historical fiction.

Following Lambert from his humble beginnings as a twelve-year-old farm boy named John Collan who is shocked to be informed that he is, in fact, the Earl of Warwick, hidden son of the deceased Duke of Clarence and rightful heir to the throne, to his time in Oxford where he is educated using the pseudonym Lambert, to his life and training with extended York family in Burgundy as Edward and eventually his coronation in Ireland as King Edward V, to the fateful battle of Stoke Field in 1487 and beyond, all the while raising the question of how much we can ever fully trust historical accounts, "The Pretender" is intriguing, thrilling, and unforgettable. Vivid worldbuilding, complex characters, and enough context to familiarize even those without foreknowledge of this part of British history with the goings-on, combined with a truly fascinating plot and told in superb writing, make this one of the most delightful releases in historical fiction in a long time.

The truly stunning cover is just the cherry on top, but should be noted just the same.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"The Pretender" is slated to be released on April 22, 2025.

This was a unique take on a topic that is familiar (although not overdone by any means, which is refreshing).

Fans of historical fiction, or those just looking for a good read, should pick this up knowing that it's immersive, complex, challenging, and bawdy. Based on the life of Lambert Simnel, it's the tale of someone caught in the internecine life of England in the 1470s. It helps to have at least a vague knowledge of the Tudor period to fully understand why Simnel's father Clarence chose to send him to be raised by a farmer and why he was then plucked from the farm and educated by a tutor in Oxford before being sent to Ireland and so on. That said, Harkin does explain (even it this part does get a bit confusing at times). Focus on Lambert, whose name is changed as he moves through the way stations of his life. He's got a big heart especially toward the women in his life, who do not always fare well. Harkin makes him a vivid, conflicted, emotional and thoughtful child, then teen, then man who can n0t and should not trust anyone (although he does) and who must make his way though a morass not of his making. The world building is terrific. It's very long and takes a bit of patience in spots but it's also a page turner. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a terrific read that's worthy of your time and attention. Highly recommend.