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The Fall of the Rebel Angels (detail) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1562.

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Hanging at the Gemäldegalerie Art Museum in Berlin, Germany, is an unusual painting. Measuring 64 inches by 46 inches, this oil-on-oak-panel painting from the 1500s has an unusual subject. The crowd of people are all doing frankly weird things: two men are defecating out of a window, a man is biting into a wooden pillar, another man is banging his head against a wall, a man is burying a calf, a man is attempting to scoop up spilled porridge, and a woman is tying into a bundle what appears to be the devil.

This odd artwork was made by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, who was one of the most significant Dutch artist of the Renaissance. Titled “Netherlandish Proverbs,” the painting is actually a literal illustration of more than one hundred Dutch language proverbs and idioms.

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Titian, Portrait of Young Catherine, 1548 - 1549

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She knows everything.

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I have a question about the rewrite, do you plan to change Jane Parker's role in Anne and George's downfall? And will Anne still have had a sexual relationship with (the married) Thomas Wyatt? Those were two of the things that made it clear the book was initially based on The Tudors, instead of history. I still love the book though, even if those two events annoyed me a little bit

Hello! Thank you very much for your interest in my novels!

In the revised novel, the things which annoyed you were taken out.  

Now Anne Boleyn doesn’t have an affair with Thomas Wyatt, and Henry VIII is her first lover.  This is an excerpt from chapter 1, Between Two Kings:

“Madame, please speak honestly and truthfully,” intoned the Archbishop.  

“Yes,” Anne answered, focusing her gaze on Cranmer. “I confess my innocence of all the charges brought against me before the Lord.  I solemnly swear on my eternal soul that I’ve never been unfaithful to King Henry, my lord and husband, although I’ve not always treated him with the obedience, respect, and humility which I owed him as a wife.”  

She continued, “God is all-seeing and knows that I’m innocent of these accusations.”  She trailed off, leaned forward, and placed her hand on the Bible which lay on a nearby table.  “The Almighty is my witness that during my relationship with His Majesty, never once, by word or look, have I made the slightest attempt to interest any other man in my humble person.  I was a true maid when His Majesty took me to his bed.”    

A short, crestfallen silence reigned in the chamber, a muted sadness hanging in the air.      

Gathering courage, Anne proceeded.  “Don’t think that I say this in the hopes that the king will exonerate me of all the false charges, for I’ve already accepted my fate.  Despite being innocent, I’ll obey His Majesty’s will and follow the other men unjustly condemned to death with grace and dignity. I’m perfectly sure that I’ll lead an eternal life with them in heaven.”  

As you see, Anne’s last confession was significantly changed.

While working on the revised version of this novel, I tried to make characters and storylines as close to real history as possible.

As for Jane Boleyn’s portrayal, I’m delighted to inform you that it was changed as well. Elizabeth Somerset, Countess of Worcester, served as one of Anne Boleyn’s ladies-in-waiting in her privy chamber and was close to her; she was the chief informant against Anne. In the revised version, Elizabeth Somerset is said to have testified against Anne Boleyn, claiming that her queen engaged in numerous adulterous acts with several courtiers. 

Jane’s portrayal is now more sympathetic, and I think I can have her travel to Anne to France in book 2. I need to think about her character arc in the revised series.  This is an excerpt from chapter 12, Between Two Kings:

As her gaze fell on Elizabeth Somerset, Jane’s eyes flashed with rage.  This villainess had been the chief informant against Anne Boleyn, and, thus, she was guilty of her spouse’s unfair death.  George hadn’t been an ideal husband to Jane, and he’d had a few affairs at the beginning of their marriage.  Yet, they had been joined in holy matrimony, and she’d come to love him in her own way, knowing that he’d loved her, too, – in his own way.  Jane had failed to give George a child, and the fact that he’d never voiced his disappointment made her respect him deeply.  

Oh, George!  I’m still mourning for you, and I’ll never forget you, my love.  But I cannot speak about you to anyone… I cannot even mention your name, Jane Boleyn mentally lamented.  Grief sprang up from the depths of her soul, and she fended off the urge to weep.  An instant later, her erstwhile ire resurfaced as she stared into the eyes of her husband’s murderess.  

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When you say you started working on a revised version of Between Two Kings are you talking about the first book, or the sequel that was supposed to come out but never did as of yet because of some problems?

Hello! Thank you for your interest in my novels. 

Indeed, in September 2017, I started working on the new version of book 1, Between Two Kings, and the revised version of book 2, Queen’s Revenge. There will be several books in this alternate history series.

Book 1 will be republished, eventually. Book 2 will be published after book 1. 

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I ordered it last week. It will arrive in a week or so. 

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Hieronymus Bosch c. 1510

Adoration of the Magi (detail)

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Santi di Tito c. 1593

Vision of Saint Thomas Aquinas

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Frans Floris c. 1560

The Fall of Man

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Geertgen tot Sint Jans c. 1485

Burning of the Bones of Saint John the Baptist

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Tres Riches Heures de Jean, Duc de Berry, artist unknown, 1412-16

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El entierro del señor de Orgaz (The funeral of Mr. de Orgaz), 1586-88, by El Greco (1541–1614)

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Poynter, John Edward, Barine (details) 1894.

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july 2016, uffizzi, florence! ig: paolalien

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Salvator Mundi (Christ Blessing), Titian, ca. 1570

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Times Square    -       Medard Verburgh ,1931.

Belgian 1886-1957

oil on canvas,  76 x 65 cm.