The following is from the January 1, 1997 paperback edition; Hodder & Stoughton/Sceptre; 135 pages; list price: unknown - import

One lovely morning in the summer of 1957 I was sitting in my gypsy caravan at our farm in Sussex, waiting for inspriration. It came suddenly, out of the blue, Whistle Down the Wind. The beginning, the middle, the end - the complete story.
   In a few days it was finished, my publisher had bought it and it was on its way to the bookshelves. My children, Juliet, Hayley and Jonathan, loved it and, of course, being quite intelligent, recognised themselves. Later on my grandchildren also enjoyed it and now, because of this lovely new edition, my great granddaughter, Cheyanne, will, I hope, enjoy it too.
   This recent letter said: 'Dear Lady Mills. I enjoy reading books and listening to stories very much indeed. My Dad recently gave me a cassette of Whistle Down the Wind. I thought it was wonderful. It was so exciting. I'm really pleased that we never knew whether Jesus was the escaped convict. I don't believe he was. I talked to my Dad and he thought he was. Me, I'm with Brat. Thank you so much for your terrific story. I shall always remember it. With lots of love from Tom Attenborough (aged 9. The elder son of your husband's godson!).'
   The book really does seem to have been born under a lucky star. In 1961 our great friends Dickie Attenborough (now His Lordship) and Bryan Forbes made a delightful film of it. The picture turned out to be a great success and now, to my amazement, Andrew Lloyd Webber has bought it to produce a musical stage version before making it as a film.
   To say I am a lucky author is the understatement of the year!

Mary Hayley Bell
October 1996

PS. My husband has read this and wants me to say it is one of his favourite books but, of course, since we have already celebrated our Golden Wedding anniversity, he has to be, shall we say, slightly biased!

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