A few years ago, I visited Snowshill Manor in the Cotswolds – the wonderfully magical home of the late Charles Paget Wade. It remains one of the most extraordinary places I have ever seen with its eclectic collection which includes everything from long case clocks to Samurai swords.

The house and garden alone would be worth a visit for it is exquisitely beautiful, sitting in one of those green-gold valleys which the Cotswolds is famous for. I just knew that I had to write a book set there and an idea for a hero inspired by Charles Paget Wade began to emerge … an eccentric collector with a rather unusual collection …

So, I wrote to the custodian of Snowshill and was allowed to visit on a perfect spring day in May when the house was closed to the public. What a treat that was! I was shown around the collection, allowed to take photographs and ask all the questions I had whilst my artist husband had been given special permission to paint in the garden. It’s a day I’ll never forget and I hope I’ve managed to capture something of the magic of Snowshill in my fictional version, Fox Hill Manor, in The Secret of You.