“Lambert isn’t sure if he’d remember to answer to the name Lambert, but he does, every time. What kind of soul does he have, that can tip itself out of a John Collan cup into a Lambert Simons cup, without spilling a drop.”
In 1487, Lambert Simnel, a boy raised in obscurity and believed to be the true heir to the throne, was crowned as King Edward VI, last of the Plantagenet kings. He became the leader of the York rebellion. The rebellion failed, but King Henry VII took pity on the young boy – instead of putting him to death like many of the rebellion leaders, he put him to work as a spit turner. Known as a “pretender” to the throne, Jo Harkin’s The Pretender (Knopf 2025) is based on his true story. She breathed life into a footnote in history and created a 476-page novel full of history, wit, and heartbreak.
When the novel opens, John is a ten-year-old boy growing up on a dairy farm. He misses his older brothers who have gone to school, and he is being bullied by a goat. No one is more surprised than him when he learns that he is not his father’s son, he’s not John at all. He’d been put with the family for sake-keeping and is heir to the throne. His once-father had been paid. He is taken away from everything he ever knew – including his very name.
John, Lambert, Edward… he wears all the faces as he becomes the figurehead in the York rebellion – a young boy struggling with identity, belonging, and knowledge that he has zero desire to be king; he’d rather read books and tell fart jokes.
Lambert’s voice is well established and well crafted through the chunky novel, and while I think the novel may suffer from being too full of puffery in some spots, I do think it’s an overwhelming success and a fun read, albeit at times difficult due to the authenticity of language. (And who doesn’t love Joan?!? Why couldn’t there have been more Joan!?!?)
Read this book.
A Girl Named Tommi 