Judith May Evans was a company director until a vivid dream showed her writing in Tuscany. Sienese Monticiano was love at first sight, and the village became her writing home for sixteen years. Her discovery of the renowned Lorenzetti brothers’ artwork, inspired ‘Colours of Siena’, her debut novel, the first of a trilogy set around Siena. A traveller to some 150 countries, she is mother of two, grandmother of four, a year-round outdoor-pool swimmer, and lives in London.
Author of Colours of Siena
Published by The Conrad Press, February 2024
‘Colours of Siena’ is the compelling tale of Clara, forced from her home in Tuscany’s art capital, Siena, and her determination to return there to paint. When the most expensive painting in Christendom is paraded through the streets of Siena, Clara, young servant to the city’s most powerful family, is inspired. Ambrogio, the youngest painter, spots her genius for colour, and ignites her passion to become an artist. But when her father is murdered, she’s banished to the country. Can Clara persuade Ambrogio to rescue her? Will family and the Black Death stop Clara realising her dreams?
Colours of Siena has been longlisted for the Historical Writers’ Association Debut Crown Award 2024:
“A vivid drama of medieval Siena with an inspiring heroine and a striking and evocative exploration of the life and work of an artist at the dawn of the renaissance.”
Lisa Bentley