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On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now.

, recommends his favorite book of the year so far: “The Pretender” by Jo Harkin, which he calls “historical fiction at its very best.” 

“The novel is set in the 15th century against the backdrop of English royal intrigue and the rise of the Tudors. The story is narrated by the character first known as John Collan, a historical figure whose life is imaginatively filled in by the author. 

“The story begins with our narrator, age 10, having a conflict with the village devil goat who is intent on knocking John over. A well-dressed man arrives who tells John that he’s been hidden away for his safety in the countryside, and that he's not the son of the farmer who raised him, but he is, in fact, Edward Plantagenet, heir to the throne of England, currently occupied by Henry the seventh the first Tudor monarch.  

“A few of the many reasons that I’m excited to recommend this book are its rollicking plot and its often bawdy humor. 

“I especially admire how the author deals with themes of identity and how what we believe is the truth of our personal history shapes our identity. The nurturing family who raised him is not his actual family. His name, John, is not his name, and the name he's given, Lambert Simnel, is merely a placeholder name. When the plot to place him on the throne is activated, all of this leaves our protagonist feeling unmoored from his own life and suffering from what we would call an identity crisis.  

“’The Pretender’ is filled with believable characters, and dialogue that somehow feels authentic to the 15th century. It’s atmospheric, funny, bawdy and at times poignant.”

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David Burton of novel, a bookstore in Memphis, Tenn., recommends “The Pretender” by Jo Harkin.

Ask a Bookseller: ‘The Pretender’ by Jo Harkin

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