Novels

The Truth of the Line

This novel tells the story of the court artist Nicholas Hilliard from the time he was introduced to Elizabeth I in 1572.

Hilliard painted the queen many times and created many enigmatic portraits of her proclaiming her much vaunted virginity. But was that virginity the reality?

In June 1587 a young man appeared in Spain claiming he was Arthur Dudley, the illegitimate son of Elizabeth I and her lover, Sir Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

The title is a quote from Hilliard’s draft treatise of 1598, but is it purely a reference to his extraordinary ability to capture his sitter’s likeness, or does it allude to something far more fascinating, such as a royal bastard who has remained secret for centuries?

Hilliard’s portrait of a young man holding a hand coming from a cloud (in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London) has long puzzled historians and art historians, and I am but one in a long line of those who have theories as to the meaning behind the motto, Attici Amoris Ergo.

I believe the answer not only lies in deciphering the riddle of the motto, but also the complex visusal clues. Famous for his ability to capture the likeness of his sitters, perhaps the answer also lies in comparing this portrait with those he created of Elizabeth I and of sir Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. As a forensic scientist friend of mine said, “You can’t beat genetics!”

Available via the usual outlets, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, & my author spotlight page on Lulu.com https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/melanievtaylor001

I am currently in the process of writing up the research into the Hilliard miniature of A Young Man Holding a Hand from a Cloud, with the motto, Attici Amoris Ergo (by, with, from or through the love of Atticus). This miniature has intrigued both historians and art historians alike and various suggestions have been made as to his identity. Watch this space!!!!

My novel was cited in Christies 2013 auction catalogue when the copy of Hilliard’s Young Man Holding a Hand from a Cloud was sold reachng a hammer price of £47,500. The book is also cited by Dr Christine Padmore, in her essay on Levina Teerlinc in Authorizing Early Modern European Women: From Biography to Biofiction, published by Amsterdam University Press in their series Gendering the Late Medieval World and Early Modern World. This academic publication received a co-honourable mention for the 2022 Collaborative Project Award from the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender. www.AUP.nl

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Walls of Truth

Inheritance

The day Melissa returns for her Great Aunt Hetty’s funeral and turns the key in the lock of The Old Manor House on the de Braose estate where she grew up, she knows her life is about to change. Lord Edward de Braose, his grandson William and faithful Mr & Mrs Podger help her come to terms with Hetty’s death and the revelations in the will. When Lord Edward dies suddenly and the ancient de Braose estate is inherited by his son Tobias, the mansion and park is sold. The new owners plan to develop the park into a golfcourse and vast 16th century mansion into the clubhouse with a health spa, but is this development all what it seems? William and Melissa campaign to save the endangered species and rare chalk grassland from the bulldozers only to discover they are up against wealthy, powerful invisible investors, sheltering behind offshore trusts and shell companies registered in various tax havens around the world. Can they beat the power of big money and challenge the local council’s permission for the development via the Engish court system in the High Court? And what of their own relationship?

Available via the usual outlets, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, & my author spotlight page on Lulu.com https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/melanievtaylor001

Love or Money

The daughter of wealthy divorced parents, Fleur Barton had left the Channel Island of Jersey for the bright lights of London when she was 18. Her marriage had been a disaster and her divorce acrimonious. She had survived the violence and the abuse, but the emotional scars run deep. Renewing an old relationship helps heal these wounds, but love is not enough.

A substantial inheritance enables her to fulfil one ambition and she finds herself in the world of high finance and big deals. Is she able to find happiness and healing in Hong Kong?

Set in a time before mobile phones and large City bonuses, this is the story of one woman’s struggle to make her way in a man’s world.

Written back in the 1990s when mobile phones were rare, but not published until 2012.

Available via the usual outlets, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, & my author spotlight page on Lulu.com https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/melanievtaylor001