A LITTLE TRICKERIE by Rosanna Pike (2024)

★ ★ ★ ★ .75 - a masterpiece work of historical fiction centering the marginalized voices of the medieval period one never hears about - the most full of joy, compassion, & a zest for life of them all.

Jun 02, 2025

∙ Paid

“Don’t you know I am the Robin Hood of Leominster, Ma, and ho-ho-ho? O, I am having some warm feeling trampling up my spine as those people leave because life is some hard-enough plod in this shit kingdom, Tibb, and perhaps a false-angel is not such a very terrible thing.”

title: A Little Trickerie

author: Rosanna Pike

published: 2024

publisher: Fig Tree Books (Penguin Random House) for Goldsboro

genre/subgenre: literary historical fiction

setting: 1500 CE in England

main themes/subjects: revenge when there is no hope for justice, honesty & authenticity, classism & aporophobia, vagrancy, violence against women & children, love is a roof is a home, street performers, evil exploitative & abusive men, corruption of the church, fear & self-loathing (as a result of trauma), internalized homophobia, friendship & solidarity, beaches, stars, angels, faith vs religion, trust in what is right

representation: FMC with albinism, queer & poor MCs, MMC with CMN

tropes: outcasts, found family, con job

blurbs: “The most lovable protagonist I’ve come across in years…” - Sandra Newman, author of Julia

“Striking, darkly funny and heartfelt, Tibb’s tale of trickery and friendship in a vividly conjured Tudor England grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go…” — Ferdia Lennon, author of Glorious Exploits

“Rosanna Pike is a bright and bold new voice in historical fiction and has created a heart-catching character in bad girl trickster, Tibb…” — Annie Garthwaite, author of Cecily

“Listen. My one-time friend Maria did tell me once: ‘Make your own paradise, Tibb, since this world is no sweet place for people like us.’”

premise: “blazingly original, disarmingly funny and deeply moving. Portraying a side of Tudor England rarely seen, it’s a tale of belief and superstition, kinship and courage, with a ragtag cast of characters and an unforgettable and distinctly unangelic heroine.” The publisher’s full summary for this book is actually quite accurate, though it may not capture just how literarily beautiful the book is—it’s truly stunning.

my thoughts:

Finally the book I’ve always wanted: a medieval historical fiction centering the voices of the truly marginalized: the vagrants, the landless, the disabled, the deformed, the foreign, & the queer. This lovable group of outcasts led by the clever & stubborn Tibb shows just what is possible when you insist on filling your own life with all the joy you can grab for yourself & yours.

execution: flawless. exceeded expectations. though it was SO stressful, omg. I’ll definitely need to reread it because my heart-rate was off the charts during this first read & I think I missed a lot of subtlety.

writing style: I was obsessed with Tibb’s narrative voice & the writing style. That’s one of the main reasons I want to reread to truly (& more leisurely) submerse myself in the gorgeous writing. Here’s a quote that’s a good example of what I’m talking about: “…and I think I could listen to his tunes forever. This melody he is playing now sounds like water and sand. Like the tide and the sea-air. It sounds like time is sliding past, escaping through my fingers, and it is something shameful to me that tears are dripping down my face. Thoughts of Ivo and Ma and Henrietta. The fact I'm so happy with Ambrose and Maria and yet I do miss those gone-already people just as much and how can that make any sense at all? Did you know music can shift the mountains, Tibb?”

characters: the good guys were all super lovable & sympathetic—outcasts, disableds, & queers all—while the villains were the most atrocious human specimens you could possibly imagine & they made my skin absolutely crawl. I agreed with Tibb’s final judgment but I sympathized very strongly with Ambrose’s & Maria’s objections.

story/plot: unexpectedly fast-paced. I was literally on the edge of my seat racing through this book. The twists were all so upsetting that I was braced for some serious tragedy like the whole way through the story. At one point I literally had to take a break to lower my heart rate with some breathing exercises because I was so stressed for these characters omg.

worldbuilding: fantastic. I don’t know too much about medieval England but I absolutely felt immersed in that world & my friend with whom I was reading this book (& who is a lot closer to being an expert in the subject than I think she would admit) too was pleased with the accuracy & effect of the worldbuilding overall.

I especially loved how the truly beautiful places & the only places Tibb ever felt beautiful or clean was in Nature as opposed to the villages, houses, or even the churches. Nothing was said about any of the churches to make me feel like they were elegant or lovely—in fact our protagonists used it largely as rec room, climbing over pews, & laying out in the loft, which reminded me a lot of growing up in churches as a kid & having more or less the run of them & doing pretty much the same 😆—BUT a lot was said about the beach & the sky that made me able to visualize those things & feel the supreme beauty in them that Tibb felt.

philosophy: excellent. The dialogue between true faith & religion felt particularly well-executed. [SPOILERS>>] The priest’s immediate skepticism of the angel & Ivo telling his gaoler that of course the angel was real felt like mirrored moments that really encapsulated this theme. & the way in which Ivo & Tibb being willing to stick to their plan until the end resulting both in their freedom & the attainment of justice for the priests felt perfectly executed. [<<END SPOILERS]

I also loved what my friend said about it being a fresh take on utopia vs dystopia themes “Where utopia is the existence of the imagination and authenticity of self and dystopia is self denial, commodification, and submission to authority.” Thought that was very on-point.

notable elements: Both Ferdia Lennon (whose Glorious Exploits I just finished reading before starting Trickerie with the same friend with whom I read Pike’s book 😆) & Annie Garthwaite (whose books went on my TBR after I attended her talk with the Archaeo Bookclub discord which I absolutely loved) blurbed this book!

i would recommend this book to readers who love a beautifully written, subversive literary historical fiction with lovable outcast characters & a wry, clever narrative voice. this book is best read as a buddy read. There’s so much to talk about & it’s good to have someone going through all of the stressful bits with you… 😅

“In the evening those stars are brighter than I have seen them on account of the no-clouds sky. They are blinking up there like a million cat-eyes and those thoughts of rooves are crawling back like when Ma was here.
‘It is strange, Ivo. My ma was looking for a roof for us ever since I can remember, and I did want that thing too, and yet I should say this covered-in-stars roof is the best one I have ever had, and that is not really a roof at all.’”

final note: I’ll definitely be reading more from Rosanna Pike!

CW // death in childbirth (first chapter), depression (which she refers to as “the snake”), child death (off-page, brought up in flashbacks), SA of a child (“A farmer called O” & repeated flashbacks throughout the book), PTSD, graphic homophobic violence (“Most deplorable way”), abduction & captivity (“My own pet” → “Always a river”)

spice level: 🌶️

season: Winter / Spring

music pairing: “A Medieval Tapestry” by the Folger Consort (1990)

Quotes, Notes, & Annotations…

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A LITTLE TRICKERIE by Rosanna Pike (2024)

★ ★ ★ ★ .75 - a masterpiece work of historical fiction centering the marginalized voices of the medieval period one never hears about - the most full of joy, compassion, & a zest for life of them all.

“Don’t you know I am the Robin Hood of Leominster, Ma, and ho-ho-ho? O, I am having some warm feeling trampling up my spine as those people leave because life is some hard-enough plod in this shit kingdom, Tibb, and perhaps a false-angel is not such a very terrible thing.”

title: A Little Trickerie

genre/subgenre: literary historical fiction

“Listen. My one-time friend Maria did tell me once: ‘Make your own paradise, Tibb, since this world is no sweet place for people like us.’”

my thoughts:

“In the evening those stars are brighter than I have seen them on account of the no-clouds sky. They are blinking up there like a million cat-eyes and those thoughts of rooves are crawling back like when Ma was here.

‘It is strange, Ivo. My ma was looking for a roof for us ever since I can remember, and I did want that thing too, and yet I should say this covered-in-stars roof is the best one I have ever had, and that is not really a roof at all.’”

further reading:

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‘Life is so simple in your eyes, isn’t it, Tibb?’

‘It is, Ivo.’

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Quotes, Notes, & Annotations…

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