Headline scoops 'dazzling' novel from Holden about Hans Holbein

Mountain Leopard Press, an imprint of Headline, has scooped Wendy Holden’s "dazzling" historical novel, The Queen’s Painter. 

Fiction publishing director Jennifer Doyle bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Jonathan Lloyd at Curtis Brown. The novel will be published in early 2026.   

The Queen’s Painter offers "a completely fresh angle on the Tudor court", following artist Hans Holbein and his relationship with Anne Boleyn, his patron and Henry VIII’s wife. The novel posits "an entirely new theory—that Holbein used his art as vengeance. To destroy those who sent Anne to her cruel death on the scaffold".

Holden commented: "Hans Holbein’s role in shaping the image of some of our greatest historical figures is dramatic enough. Add to that his personal involvement with the key players and the idea he used his genius to get revenge and you have the perfect mix of passion, retribution and everyone’s favourite period of history. I’ve always longed to write a novel about Holbein and only feared someone else would do it first. I’ve had the time of my life researching, puzzling out the clues in certain paintings and making connections never made before." 

Doyle added: "When Wendy told me about her idea for the new novel, I was entranced. She has meticulously researched the life and work of Hans Holbein and is a fountain of knowledge about the machinations of the Tudor court. I was hooked by this fresh insight into these iconic paintings and the story that could lie behind them. With The Queen’s Painter, Wendy is taking a perennially appealing period of history and bringing it to sparkling new life."