{"product_id":"9781526678355-pretender-the","title":"The Pretender","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e'A frontrunner for historical fiction book of the year' - The Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWolf Hall \u003c\/i\u003emeets \u003ci\u003eDemon Copperhead\u003c\/i\u003e in a sharply ambitious, brilliantly imagined and hugely entertaining story of intrigue, deceit, ambition and revenge\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e**Selected as a book of summer 2025 by the \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e**\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWolf Hall \u003c\/i\u003emeets \u003ci\u003eDemon Copperhead\u003c\/i\u003e in a sharply ambitious, brilliantly imagined and hugely entertaining story of intrigue, deceit, revenge and ambition\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘An absolute delight … Funny, moving, filthy and original … A frontrunner for historical fiction book of the year’ \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘A bold and brilliant comedy of royal intrigue’ \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e, Book of the day\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘A vivid, transporting feat of imagination’ Maggie Shipstead\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Witty, poignant, wildly engaging, and with a huge heart - I loved it’ Sarah Waters\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrilliantly buoyant, clever, funny, original, vivid, witty\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e’ Joanna Quinn\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘\u003ci\u003eThe Pretender\u003c\/i\u003e has everything: history richly drawn, amazing characterisation, humour, wit, vigour and bravery’ Emma Stonex\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Funny and devastating. I'm having a fantastic time reading it’ Yael van der Wouden\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e________________________________________\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKill the pretender. Do not let it be known that there was a pretender to kill.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eThe year is 1483 and England is in peril. The much-despised Richard III is not long for the throne, and the man who will become Henry VII stands poised to snatch the crown for himself. But for twelve-year-old John Collan, living in a remote village with his widowed father, these matters seem far away.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut history has other plans for John.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStolen from his family, exiled – first to Oxford, then to Burgundy, and then Ireland – and apprenticed to a series of unscrupulous political operators, he finds himself groomed for power; not as John Collan, but as Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick – and rightful heir to the throne.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFar from home at the Irish court, preparing for a war that will see him become king or die trying, John has just his wits – and the slippery counsel of his host’s daughter, the unconventional Joan – to navigate the choppy waters ahead.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSeething with revenge and machination, sparkling with wit and humanity, and roaring with adventure and bravado, \u003ci\u003eThe Pretender \u003c\/i\u003eis the captivating true story of a young man tossed into the chaos of history as it happens. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Wickedly funny… A work of genius, a wellspring of laughter and sorrow, a feat of time travel, and a feast of language' Karen Russell\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Raw, beautiful and true . I loved it’ Leah Redmond Chang\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘An absolute thumper … Funny and filthy and brave and brilliant’ Marianne Levy\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Superb, exhilarating and heartbreaking’ Linda Porter\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘I couldn't put it down’ Tracy Borman\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55563255120246,"sku":"9781526678355","price":15.71,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_34011164.jpg?v=1753427218","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781526678355-pretender-the","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}