'An engrossing, enthralling and utterly captivating read, The Young
Pretender tells a simply remarkable story with bounce, energy, wit, and
lively authenticity . . . Michael Arditti's brilliant imaginative
achievement offers high comedy, dark tragedy and everything between'
STEPHEN FRY
Mobbed by the masses, lionised by the aristocracy, courted by royalty
and lusted after by patrons of both sexes, the child actor William Henry
West Betty was one of the most famous people in Georgian Britain.
At the age of thirteen, he played leading roles, including Romeo,
Macbeth and Richard III, in theatres across the country. Prime
Minister William Pitt adjourned the House of Commons so that its members
could attend his debut as Hamlet at Covent Garden. Then, as rivals
turned on him and scandal engulfed him, he suffered a fall as merciless
as his rise had been meteoric.
The Young Pretender takes place during Betty's attempted comeback at the
age of twenty-one. As he seeks to relaunch his career, he is forced to
confront the painful truths behind his boyhood triumphs. Michael
Arditti's revelatory new novel puts this long forgotten figure back in
the limelight. In addition to its rich and poignant portrait of Betty
himself, it offers an engrossing insight into both the theatre and
society of the age. The nature of celebrity, the power of publicity and
the cult of youth are laid bare in a story that is more pertinent now
than ever.
'Michael Arditti is a writer who takes risks. His material is always
compelling and provocative, his techniques sophisticated and oblique'
PATRICIA DUNCKER, Independent on Sunday
'Arditti is a master storyteller' PETER STANFORD, Observer
