[I was provided a review copy from the publisher via Netgalley.]
Oh,
what a book! I am only sorry that it is not being published until April
2025, although I am nothing but glad that I got to read it so early.
The
Pretender by Jo Harkin is a sweeping historical
fiction novel that tells a highly fictionalized version of the youth and
young adulthood of Lambert Simnel, who was claimed to really be Edward
Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, and a challenger to the throne of the
newly crowned Henry VII.
Very little is known about the real
Lambert Simnel, including his actual name. Some contemporary records
apparently call him John, which is presumably where Jo Harkin got the
boy's “first” name--John Collan--from.
It is known that the real
Simnel was captured and pardoned by Henry VII, who made him spit-boy in
the kitchens and later a falconer. It is believed he may have had at
least one child, but his adulthood and ultimate fate, like the boy
himself, is generally shrouded in mystery.
This makes it ripe for fiction, of course. Thankfully, Harkin plucked this ripeness in just the right season.
While
most of the novel is quite fictionalized, it feels plausible enough
unless you are an incredible stickler for historical accuracy. While
some eras of history are harder for me to accept deviations from the
record in, this isn’t one of them, so I didn’t mind any inaccuracies
(and there are some, of course) because of the book’s well thought-out
conceit.
Simnel, who begins the book as John Collan, transforms
throughout the novel–and not only in the outward sense, from farm boy to
supposed-heir-to-the-throne. But we are thrust into his internal
transformations, which are often half-complete and conflicting, playing
with the novel’s themes about identity, belonging, happiness, love,
morality, greed and ultimately, the seeming need for revenge.
Who
is John, Simnel, Edward? Is he a peasant, a pretender, an earl? Does it
matter? Can he love someone else, if he doesn’t know who he is? How is
he supposed to live, when he’s been so many people, and none of them,
perhaps, were the real him?
There is heartache in this book.
Tragedy, abuse, lies that come to fester and rot. There is also humor.
There were quite a few passages (including one very well placed “What.
The. Fuck.) that had me chuckling. There is beauty and grossness and
everything one needs to explore the essence of being human.
The
only element of the book that fell very flat for me was a strange detour
near the end that focused heavily on sex. Yes, people have sex,
including people in the past. I’m not pretending people were prudes. But
it was just a bit strange for the book to suddenly hone in on sex as a
narrative device for so long; maybe it’s something I will better
understand with a re-read, or maybe it’s something that just didn’t gel
with me.
But this theme doesn’t last for too long, all things
considered. And it does take place in the context of Simnel experiencing
yet another changing-of-the-guards in his identity, so there is an
element of franticness about the whole thing that keeps it from being
too over the top.
The storyline takes place over several years,
and Harkin does well to show us the development of Simnel as he ages and
is tutored in more complex subjects.
As Simnel goes from a
young boy learning basic Latin to a young man being presented with moral
quandaries as tests for his potential kingship, we see how his moral
character develops–even as he is faced with an increasing number of
horrific events that test his understanding of the world. And most
importantly of all, his understanding of himself.
Overall, I
highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a sweeping historical
fiction that combines humor with witness, stark humanity, and
overarching themes about identity, love, honor and revenge.
