“This sympathetic and brilliantly executed book beguiles to the very end." —The Wall Street Journal
“The Pretender is a rollicking account of a befuddled boy’s pillar-to-post existence as a political pawn.” —The New York Times
“The Pretender reimagines how a child was plucked out of obscurity to be groomed as a royal during the tumultuous Tudor era. Villains! Intrigue! Tons of humor! This is historical fiction at its finest.” —Real Simple
“[The Pretender] contains some of the most authentic writing in a child’s voice I’ve ever read. And while the book is a deeply engaging read, it underlines profoundly the experience of those who must try to forge and keep their identity without agency, caught in the powerful maw of history.” —NPR
“Fantastically accomplished. . . . A bold and brilliant comedy of royal intrigue. . . . There’s a deep love for literature here, and a desire to showcase the formation of the late-medieval mind, which elevates The Pretender above other novels about this period. . . . Scattered with fine knobbly period language and witty dialogue, and this stylish delivery brings with it considerable substance.” —The Guardian
"A poignant odyssey." —The Washington Post
"Funny, moving, and filthy in equal measure." —The Times (London)
“Dazzling. . . . The Pretender is a stylish, profane, hilarious read, and Harkin is the proverbial writer to watch." —The Minnesota Star Tribune
“Harkin skillfully evokes the foreboding and intrigue that surrounds the throne with rough-hewn language and fistfuls of bawdy humor. . . . [a] rollicking saga of royalty, loyalty, lechery and treachery." —BookPage
“Harkin’s imaginative take on a calculated hoax in English history and portrait of a curious young personage is a wildly entertaining and satirical comedy full of interesting characters.” —Booklist (starred review)
“This razor-sharp historical is on par with Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“What Jo Harkin has accomplished in The Pretender left me awestruck on every page. I had no idea that a medieval historical novel could be this wickedly funny, this timely and timeless. A work of genius, a wellspring of laughter and sorrow, a feat of time-travel, and a feast of language.” —Karen Russell, author of The Antidote
“The Pretender is a vivid, transporting feat of imagination and storytelling, so alive I felt Jo Harkin might be a time traveler.” —Maggie Shipstead, author of Great Circle
“A brilliant piece of historical storytelling that’s also gorgeously irreverent, contemporary, and fun. Witty, poignant, wildly engaging, and with a huge heart—I loved it.” —Sarah Waters, author of Fingersmith
“I blazed through full of wonder and admiration. . . . The writing is searingly confident, the sense of time and place dizzyingly good, the dialogue ribald and the description elegant. . . . I loved every single page. . . . The Pretender has everything: history richly drawn, amazing characterization, humor, wit, vigor, and bravery. It's magnificent.” —Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters
"Jo Harkin’s writing is consistently original, vivid, and witty. [The Pretender is] Glorious Exploits meets Wolf Hall—and I completely loved it.” —Joanna Quinn, author of The Whalebone Theatre
“The Pretender is the real deal—nimble, vibrant, playful, and daring. It pulses with life. I loved it.” —Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies
