'The Pretender' centers on a real peasant who learns he is heir to England's throne Podcast By cover art

'The Pretender' centers on a real peasant who learns he is heir to England's throne

'The Pretender' centers on a real peasant who learns he is heir to England's throne

Listen for free

View show details

About this listen

 In 1483, a 10-year-old peasant named John Collan is visited by a stranger who shares a life-changing piece of information. John isn't the son of a farmer, but the Duke of Clarence – and it's time for him to reclaim his destiny as king of England. Jo Harkin's novel The Pretender expands on this footnote of history from the Tudor period. In today's episode, she joins NPR's Scott Simon for a conversation that touches on her approach to historical fiction, which includes filling in gaps left by patchy records from the 15th century.

To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
No reviews yet