Frankfurt am Main , 1519: Under the name Charles V, King Charles I of Spain is elected ruler of the Holy Roman Empire and must deal with the religious discontent that has started to boil up in Germany. While the popes reside in sumptuous palaces and amass private wealth, and the clergy is selling indulgences, most of the faithful live in poverty. Moderate scholars such as Erasmus of Rotterdam plead for a reform of the Church from within, but Martin Luther from Wittenberg, taking a more radical stance, is excommunicated. Soon, Protestant ideas start to spread through Western Europe, and in 1523, Charles installs an Inquisition in the Low Countries with the purpose of extinguishing these critical doctrines. Lutherans, Anabaptists and Calvinists are persecuted, cruelly tortured, drowned, or burned at the stake. When King Philip II of Spain follows up his father as lord of the Netherlands, the oppression only intensifies. In 1568, an iconoclast revolt destroys countless churches and art works in the Low Countries. To quell the unrests and punish the rioters, Philip sends the Duke of Alba with a 10,000 man strong army; the Iron Duke's regime of terror triggers the Dutch Revolt. After eighty years of war, Spain has to give up, and the Dutch Republic  is officially recognized. Already during the armed conflict, Amsterdam becomes one of the richest and most powerful cities of Europe. Trade, science, art and literature flourish during this period now known as the Dutch Golden Age.

Amsterdam, 2019: Art historian and tourist guide Carolien Blansjaar receives a message from Paul Martineau, her study companion from Pisa times: he needs her help with a riddle posed by an antique canvas owned by his granduncle Malcom. Carolien's first findings  spark a joint hunt for an obscure box secretly buried in the historical center of Amsterdam. At the same time, chief inspector Van Peeteren tries to solve a gruesome homicide case. With wit and grit, Carolien and Paul start unraveling the painting's mystery, but are violently attacked by a priest recruited to guard the chest's secret: the truth about a murder that changed the course of history, centuries ago...

The novel leads the reader through modern-day Amsterdam, in lockstep with important events of the year 2019, while granting a keen insight into the political and religious conflicts that troubled the Netherlands during the 16th and 17th century. Art and art history play a key role in putting Paul and Carolien on the right track, while Carolien's circle of friends supports them with useful information. When the threads of the story finally converge, a wild boat chase through the Amsterdam canals decides whether the truth will come to light.

I trimmed the story to c. 106,000 words, so that it remains concise and fast-paced.  I added 46 diagrams, maps, drawings and photos in black-and-white, half of which are needed to visualize the riddles the protagonist try to tackle, while the other half supports the understanding of the historical and geographical context. All images rights have already been cleared.

Carolien Blansjaar & the Cursing Priest will appeal to readers of historical thrillers and puzzle driven novels in the style of Dan Brown, Steve Berry or Raymond Khoury. Adults are the target group, but the novel can  be enjoyed by all readers age 16 or above. Although the story discusses historical events, no expert knowledge about European or Dutch history is needed to follow the narrative.

If you are interested in this project as a literary agent, please let me know, and I can send you the illustrated manuscript as a PDF file (8 Mb).