Book 2 comes to life!

Where does fiction end and fact begin? This week the Royal Collection Trust announced that a painting by the leading eighteenth century artist Artemisia Gentileschi had been discovered after languishing in storage for many years.

I’ve been a fan of Artemisia’s since I wrote an illustrated guide to women artists called ‘The Bigger Picture’ (‘Women’s Art Work’ in the US and Canada) for the Tate Gallery in 2019.

It was the last book I wrote before The Windsor Knot. I discovered that great female artists have been celebrated throughout history, but that once they died their reputations tended to disappear, as male art historians weren’t keen to keep their legacy alive. However, all that changed in the 70s and 80s. Now Artemisia, who was once seen as secondary to her father Orazio, a court painter for Charles I, is appreciated for the shining talent she was.

The Royal Collection contains a brilliant self portrait by her, which features in A Three Dog Problem (All the Queen’s Men in the US and Canada), and she is key to the plot. I won’t spoil that for you, but if you’ve read the book you’ll know that the video on the RCT site of the conservator working on the newly discovered painting sends shivers of delight down my spine. I’m not surprised that they found a hidden treasure, but that it should be by Artemisia … It’s now part of a temporary display at Windsor Castle. Where fact and fiction meet!