of THE BEST INTENTIONS

Although there is no such church as St. Biddulph's in Northamptonshire (in fact, there is no such saint as Biddulph — I just liked the name), the church was modeled after a real church: All Saints Church in Brixworth, Northamptonshire (see below, top row).

I provided photos of the Brixworth church to the art department at Signet, and they did a fairly accurate job of representing it on the cover (though I think the woman on the cover looks more like the heroine's elegant older sister than the young, klutzy heroine).

The fictional Epping Hall, the hero's estate, was modeled on Wilton House in Wiltshire (see below, bottom row, left). Like Wilton, the fictional Epping Hall was designed by Inigo Jones. As the guests gather in the drawing room before dinner on the first night, picture them in a room very similar to Wilton's famous Double-Cube Room (see below, bottom row, right).

This book was conceived as a result of reader mail from the previous book, A Garden Folly. Miles was a secondary character in AGF and many people wrote to me asking if he was going to get his own story. As I wrote AGF I never had it in my mind to write a book for Miles.

So, you see? Readers CAN have an impact! Keep those cards and letters coming!