Lynn Picknett (born 1947) is an English writer of books that are mainly about religious history and popular conspiracy theories, the

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

, the

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

, and historical mysteries.

Biography

Born in Folkestone, Kent, England, in April 1947, Picknett grew up in an alleged

haunted house A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, attending Park Grove Junior School and Queen Anne Grammar School. After graduating from university with an Upper 2nd (hons) degree in English Literature, she briefly became a teacher, a shop assistant, and a

stand-up comic Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehears ...

before moving to London in 1971 to join Marshall Cavendish Publications as a trainee sub-editor. In the 1980s, Picknett was Deputy Editor on '' The Unexplained'' and contributor to many other publications. She was also a regular contributor on various radio shows, including Michael van Straten and

Clive Bull Clive Bull (born 23 January 1959) is an English radio talk show host, best known for presenting a late-night show on LBC in London. Background Bull was educated at Dulwich College in south east London, between 1970 and 1977 where he was a leadin ...

's on LBC and Talk Radio. She was also a television presenter for both Anglia and Southern TV. In 1990, Picknett was guest curator for the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is the world's oldest photographic society having been in continuous existence since 1853. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as th ...

's exhibition ''The Unexplained at Bath'', performing the same function in 1999 for the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television at Bradford. In the early 1990s, Picknett teamed up with fellow researcher and writer Clive Prince. Their first book, ''Turin Shroud: How Leonardo da Vinci Fooled History'', claimed that the characteristics of the

Shroud of Turin The Shroud of Turin (), also known as the Holy Shroud (), is a length of linen cloth that bears a faint image of the front and back of a naked man. Because details of the image are consistent with depiction of Jesus, traditional depictions o ...

could be reproduced using only a

pinhole camera A pinhole camera is a simple camera without a lens but with a tiny aperture (the so-called ''Pinhole (optics), pinhole'')—effectively a light-proof box with a small hole in one side. Light from a scene passes through the aperture and projects a ...

(

camera obscura A camera obscura (; ) is the natural phenomenon in which the rays of light passing through a aperture, small hole into a dark space form an image where they strike a surface, resulting in an inverted (upside down) and reversed (left to right) ...

) and that

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

, in producing the image, used his own face for the model of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. This is inconsistent with the first exhibition of the Shroud of Turin, authentic or not, in 1357, almost a century before Leonardo's birth. Picknett and Prince counter-argue that the relic predating Leonardo "was not the same one as today's." The 1997 book '' The Templar Revelation'' by Picknett and Prince was credited by

Dan Brown Daniel Gerhard Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author best known for his Thriller (genre), thriller novels, including the Robert Langdon (book series), Robert Langdon novels ''Angels & Demons'' (2000), ''The Da Vinci Code'' (2003), '' ...

, both in ''

The Da Vinci Code ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is “the best-selling American novel of all time.” Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon—the first was his 2000 novel '' Angels & Demons''� ...

'' and in the 2006 court case ('' Baigent &

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

''), as the main inspiration for his novel. Picknett and Prince perform most of the research for their books themselves, but also have collaborated with others. Between 1998 and 2003, they produced three books in partnership with researchers Stephen Prior and Robert Brydon, including ''Double Standards: The

Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician, Nuremberg trials, convicted war criminal and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer ( ...

Cover-Up'' (2001). They have credited Keith Prince as a contributor to ''Turin Shroud'', and Philip Coppens for help with '' The Stargate Conspiracy (1999)'', which they dedicated to him. Picknett and Prince make a brief appearance in the film ''

''. The pair appear on a London bus as the protagonists are travelling to the

Temple Church The Temple Church, a royal peculiar in the Church of England, is a church in the Inner Temple, Inner and Middle Temple, Middle Temple, London, Temples located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar for their En ...

, off

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

in central London. Robert Langdon (

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

) leaves his seat to join Sophie (

Audrey Tautou Audrey Justine Tautou (; born 9 August 1976) is a French actress. She made her acting debut at age 18 on television, and her feature film debut in '' Venus Beauty Institute'' (1999), for which she received critical acclaim and won the César Awa ...

) at the back of the bus, and Picknett and Prince are seen sitting on the left.

Works

Picknett is the co-author of: * ''Encyclopedia of Dreams'' (1988) (with Anna Fornari and Emilio Rombaldini) * ''Turin Shroud: In Whose Image? the Truth Behind the Centuries-Long Conspiracy of Silence'' (1994) (with Clive Prince) * '' The Templar Revelation'' (1997) (with Clive Prince) * ''Stargate Conspiracy: The Truth about Extraterrestrial Life and the Mysteries of Ancient Egypt'' (2001) (with Clive Prince) * ''Double Standards: The Rudolf Hess Cover-Up'' (2002) (with Clive Prince and Stephen Prior) * ''War of the Windsors: A Century of Unconstitutional Monarchy'' (2002) (with Clive Prince and Stephen Prior) * ''Friendly Fire. The Secret War between the Allies'' (2004) (with Clive Prince and Stephen Prior) * ''The Sion Revelation'' (2006) (with Clive Prince) * ''The Masks of Christ: Behind the Lies and Cover-ups About the Man Believed to Be God'' (2008) (with Clive Prince) *''The Forbidden Universe'' (2011) (with Clive Prince) * ''When God Had a Wife: The Fall and Rise of the Sacred Feminine in the Judeo-Christian Tradition'' (2019) (with Clive Prince) Picknett is the author of: * ''The Loch Ness Monster (Pitkin Guides)'' * ''Royal Romance an Illustrated History of the Royal Love Affairs'' * ''Mary Magdalene: Christianity's Hidden Goddess'' * ''The Secret History of Lucifer'' * ''Mammoth Book of UFOs'' * ''Flights of Fancy? 100 Years of Paranormal Experiences''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Picknett, Lynn 1947 births Living people People from Folkestone Fortean writers Researchers of the Shroud of Turin English writers on paranormal topics Pseudohistorians English women writers