The Player King
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
“Swiftly moving and utterly engrossing.” —Shelf Awareness
Parents’ Choice Recommended
From Newbery Award–winning author Avi comes the gripping and amazingly true tale of a boy plucked from the gutter to become the King of England.
England, 1486. King Henry VII has recently snatched the English Crown and now sits on the throne, while young Prince Edward, who has a truer claim, has apparently disappeared. Meanwhile, a penniless kitchen boy named Lambert Simnel is slaving away at a tavern in Oxford—until a mysterious friar, Brother Simonds, buys Lambert from the tavern keeper and whisks him away in the dead of night. But this is nothing compared to the secret that the friar reveals: You, Lambert, are actually Prince Edward, the true King of England!
With the aid of the deceitful Earl of Lincoln, Brother Simonds sets out to teach the boy how to become the rightful English king. Lambert has everything to gain and nothing to lose, or so he thinks. Yet in this dangerous battle for the throne, Lambert is not prepared for what’s to come—or for what it really means to play at being a king.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Once again, Avi (The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts) whisks readers back in time to witness the adventures of a boy in danger. It's 1486 in Oxford, England, where orphan Lambert Simnel works long hours as a tavern scullion. His dismal fate changes overnight when he is purchased by a Dominican priest, who claims that Limbert is the rightful heir to King Richard's throne, which has been usurped by King Henry VII. The friar's goal is to return the boy to his "rightful" position, but first Lambert now called Edward, Earl of Warwick must learn how to be a king. Based on historical fact, the novel strongly depicts Lambert's emotions: his initial confusion, his growing excitement over the prospect of gaining wealth and power (although he knows he has no true claim to the throne), and his fear when he realizes that he is being used as a pawn in a deadly game. Avi's short, accessible chapters and candid first-person narration create suspense and strongly evoke the political climate of the era, revealing an odd, mysterious chapter in England's history. Ages 8 12.
