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Anne Boleyn. Her Life as told by Lancelot de Carle's 1536 Letter.

In 1536, two weeks after the execution of Anne Boleyn, her brother George and four others, Lancelot du Carle, wrote an extraordinary letter that described Anne's life, and her trial and execution, to which he was a witness. This book presents a new translation of that letter, with additional material from other contemporary sources such as Letters, Hall's and Wriothesley's Chronicles, the pamphlets of Wynkyn the Worde, the Memorial of George Constantyne, the Portuguese Letter and the Baga de Secrets, all of which are provided in Appendices.

Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.

Biography of Isabella Helena "Lena" Pullen 1873-

In July 1856 [her father] Abraham Pullen (age 22) and [her mother] Sarah Eagle (age 23) were married.

In 1873 Isabella Helena "Lena" Pullen was born to [her father] Abraham Pullen (age 39) and [her mother] Sarah Eagle (age 40).

Frederick Leighton Biography. 1877. Frederick Leighton 1st Baron Leighton (age 46). "The Music Lesson". Model originally Connie Gilchrist (age 11) who was replaced by Isabella Helena "Lena" Pullen (age 4). See The Life, Letters and Work of Frederic Leighton.

Frederick Leighton Biography. 1880. Frederick Leighton 1st Baron Leighton (age 49). "Sister's Kiss". Model Isabella Helena "Lena" Pullen (age 7).

1880. Frederick Leighton 1st Baron Leighton (age 49). "Yasmeenah". Model Isabella Helena "Lena" Pullen (age 7).

Frederick Leighton Biography. 1880. Frederick Leighton 1st Baron Leighton (age 49). "Letty". Model Isabella Helena "Lena" Pullen (age 7).

Frederick Leighton Biography. 1880. Frederick Leighton 1st Baron Leighton (age 49). "The Light of the Harem". Model Isabella Helena "Lena" Pullen (age 7).

Frederick Leighton Biography. 1884. Frederick Leighton 1st Baron Leighton (age 53). "Cymon and Iphigenia". Models sisters [her sister] Ada Alice "Dorothy Dene" Pullen (age 25) and Isabella Helena "Lena" Pullen (age 11).

Frederick Leighton Biography. 1884. Frederick Leighton 1st Baron Leighton (age 53). "Kittens". Model Isabella Helena "Lena" Pullen (age 11).

Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes

Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.

Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.

Frederick Leighton Biography. Around 1895. Frederick Leighton 1st Baron Leighton (age 64). "Cleobouline". Model Isabella Helena "Lena" Pullen (age 22).

Frederick Leighton Biography. Meanwhile four of these beautiful children became useful to him as models. From the second daughter [[her sister] Edith Ellen Pullen], who afterwards married an artist, Leighton painted "Memories," reproduced here; from the third, [her sister] Hetty, he painted "Simœtha the Sorceress" and "Farewell"; but it was the youngest, Lina, quite a small child, who delighted him most, and who had a rare, refined charm which must have captivated any child-lover. She took the place of little Connie Gilchrist of the "Cleobouline," the "Music Lesson," and other of the earlier paintings, in the later pictures. She sat for "Sister's Kiss," "The Light of the Harem," "Letty," the sleeping group in "Cymon and Iphigenia," "Kittens," in the friezes "The Dance" and "Music," and "A little girl with golden hair and pale blue eyes" -

"Yellow and pale as ripened corn

Which Autumn's kiss frees—grain from sheath

Such was her hair, while her eyes beneath,

Showed Spring's faint violets freshly born."

Robert Browning.