The Pretender

Name: The Pretender
Brand: Bloomsbury Publishing (AUS)
Price: 22.75 AUD
Availability: PreOrder

The Times Top Ten bestseller

By: Jo Harkin

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Paperback | 4 August 2026

At a Glance

Format
Paperback

Dimensions(cm)
19.8 x 12.9 x 3.2

Paperback

RRP $22.99

$22.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $5.69 with

Available: 4th August 2026

Preorder. Will ship when available.

Wolf Hall meets Demon Copperhead in a sharply ambitious, brilliantly imagined and hugely entertaining story of intrigue, deceit, revenge and ambition

**WATERSTONES FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH**
**THE TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER**
**NAMED AS BEST HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE SUNDAY TIMES**
**PICKED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025 BY THE GUARDIAN, SUNDAY TIMES, DAILY MAIL, AND THE I**
**SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE**
**SHORTLISTED FOR THE WINSTON GRAHAM HISTORICAL PRIZE**

1483.
The English throne is in peril.
Peasant boy and pretender John Collan is faced with two options.
a) Become king
b) Die trying
What could possibly go wrong?

Seething with revenge and machination, sparkling with wit and humanity, and roaring with adventure and bravado, The Pretender is the captivating true story of a young man tossed into the chaos of history as it happens.

________________________________________

âA bold and brilliant comedy of royal intrigueâ Guardian
âFunny, moving, filthy and originalâ The Times
âSo alive I felt Harkin might be a time travellerâ Maggie Shipstead
âI read it with the dedicated fervour of a kid discovering literature for the first timeâ Yael van der Wouden
âThe most enjoyable historical novel Iâve read in yearsâ Spectator
âWitty, poignant, wildly engaging, and with a huge heartâ Sarah Waters
âLike a Plantagenet Adrian Moleâ Jenny Colgan
âA rollicking account of a befuddled boyâs pillar-to-post existence as a political pawnâ New York Times
âThe real deal â" nimble, vibrant, playful, and daringâ Kiran Millwood Hargrave
âAmbitious, mischievous and brilliantly writtenâ Daily Mail
âI blazed through full of wonder and admirationâ Emma Stonex

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