The irresistible return to fame of the remarkable child actor Master William Betty, mobbed by the masses, courted by royalty, and one of the most famous people in Georgian Britain
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Summary
The irresistible return to fame of the remarkable child actor Master William Betty, mobbed by the masses, courted by royalty, and one of the most famous people in Georgian Britain
Description
'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, ObserverCritic Reviews
The Young Pretender is an absolute joy - charming and funny, with the lightest hint of melancholy, and a wonderfully imaginative recreation of the Georgian theatre scene -- Kate Saunders
Michael Arditti tells a story of a Regency child star with great panache and compassion, bringing a forgotten celebrity back to life for the modern age. A compelling read I was sad to finish. -- Linda Grant
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
The Young Pretender is just wonderful: so delicate and precise about performance, pretence and youth, with such a feeling for Georgian London. It's so well-written, I found myself admiring it from end to end. Andrew O'Hagan
Entrancing and disturbing . . . A moving story and Michael Arditti tells it with understanding and engaging sympathy . . . A rich social picture -- Allan Massie Scotsman
The Young Pretender is a scintillating departure [from Arditti's previous work], bringing to life the vanished world of the Georgian theatre with great skill. -- Suzy Feay Financial Times
Arditti's voice as Betty is impeccable. He is touchy, sometimes myopic, sincere in his ambitions. His attempts to reclaim lost glory are run through with an affecting melancholy. -- Antonia Senior The Times (Best New Historical Fiction)
The Young Pretender is an absolute joy - charming and funny, with the lightest hint of melancholy, and a wonderfully imaginative recreation of the Georgian theatre scene
Michael Arditti tells a story of a Regency child star with great panache and compassion, bringing a forgotten celebrity back to life for the modern age. A compelling read I was sad to finish.
The Young Pretender is a scintillating departure [from Arditti's previous work], bringing to life the vanished world of the Georgian theatre with great skill. Financial Times
Persuasively told in the actor's voice, this short, compelling novel records the crumbling of Betty's dreams of renewed acclaim and his slow acknowledgment of uncomfortable truths about his childhood stardom. -- Nick Rennison Sunday Times
The first-person narrative endears, as Arditti blends tragedy and comedy. There won't be a dry eye in the house. -- Rose Shepherd Saga Magazine
A vivid, highly detailed portrait of life in rumbustious Regency London -- Anthony Gardner Mail on Sunday
One of the best novels about the theatre I have ever read. Arditti brilliantly captures the feverish adulation of Master Betty, the financial exploitation of his fame and the sexual curiosity his presence aroused. This is also a novel about the transience of celebrity, the capricious bustle of Georgian London and the politics of theatre. I would recommend the novel not just to theatre addicts but to anyone intrigued by the whirligig of time. -- Michael Billington
About the Author
Michael Arditti is a novelist, short story writer and critic. His novels are The Celibate (1993), Pagan and her Parents (Pagan's Father in the USA) (1996), Easter (2000), Unity (2005), A Sea Change (2006), The Enemy of the Good (2009), Jubilate (2011), The Breath of Night (2013), Widows and Orphans (2016), Of Men and Angels (2018) and The Anointed (2020). His short story collection, Good Clean Fun, was published in 2004. He was awarded a Harold Hyam Wingate scholarship in 2000, a Royal Literary Fund fellowship in 2001, an Oppenheim-John Downes memorial award in 2003 and Arts Council awards in 2004 and 2007. He was the Leverhulme artist in residence at the Freud museum in 2008. His novels have been short- and long-listed for several literary awards and Easter won the inaugural Waterstone's Mardi Gras award. In 2012 he was awarded an Honorary DLitt by the University of Chester.
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