A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike

This book was picked by my book club as our November read. I’d seen it on the Women’s Prize Long-list earlier this year and had high expectations - I have a pretty good track record with Women’s Prize nominees, Olga Tokarczuk, Ruth Ozeki, Maggie O’Farrell to name but a few.

A Little Trickerie did not disappoint. It is a rambling fun fair of a novel with one of the best protagonists I’ve read in a while. Tibb Ingleby, a vagabond at a time when being branded with a ‘V’ was a real consequence, is a dramatic, disarmingly loveable person who does not shy away from life’s goodness despite her situation. Her agency is the force of the novel & her unshakeable view of the world & its workings. The ending was particularly enjoyable and wacky in a way only Tibb could be.

Whilst the Tudor England setting was not as realistic as I thought it could have been, it felt easy to look past with the semi-absurdity of the ‘trickerie.’

Looking forward to reading more by Rosanna Pike!