{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"The Yorkist Pretender, with Jo Harkin","description":"Who was Lambert Simnel\u2014the boy who nearly claimed the Tudor throne? In late 15th-century England, identity wasn\u2019t just a matter of birth\u2014it could be a political weapon, a tool for rebellion, and sometimes, an outright performance. The story of Simnel, a boy plucked from obscurity and passed off as the York heir, reveals how precarious the Tudor dynasty really was\u2014and how easily the lines between truth and fiction could blur. Author Jo Harkin joins us to explore the strange life of Simnel, the so-called Yorkist \u201cpretender\u201d who nearly toppled Henry VII. In her new novel The Pretender, Harkin imagines Simnel\u2019s life beyond the history books, from his childhood on a farm to his years at court. Along the way, she unpacks what it meant to be groomed for kingship, what royal power struggles looked like from a child\u2019s point of view, and how historical fiction can fill in the gaps of the past. Though Shakespeare never wrote a play about Henry VII, his portrayal of Richard III helped shape how we remember the Wars of the Roses\u2014and how we understand power, myth, and legacy. Harkin reflects on those cultural inheritances, showing how writing about this era means grappling with historical facts and the fictions we\u2019ve come to accept. Simnel\u2019s story reminds us that what endures isn\u2019t always what\u2019s real, but what people are ready to believe. Jo Harkin\u2019s debut speculative fiction novel, Tell Me An Ending, was a New York Times Book of the Year. Her first historical novel, The Pretender, was published in April 2025 in the U.K. and the U.S. She lives in Berkshire, England. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published April 22, 2025. \u00a9 Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the executive producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. We had help with web production from Paola Garc\u00eda Acu\u00f1a. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. Final mixing services are provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc. ","author_name":"Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare Unlimited","author_url":"http:\/\/www.folger.edu\/shakespeare-unlimited","html":"