A LIFE long Reading resident and septuagenarian has had her first book published at the age of 78.

Julie Roberts, who lives in Caversham, found publishes for her debut novel The Hidden Legacy after sending out only six submissions last year.

The former Hemdean Primary and Caversham Secondary pupil marked the release with a launch part at Great Expectations on London Street, chosen for its historical connection to Charles Dickens who gave readings at the former hotel.

“I am so thrilled to be published,” said Mrs Roberts, who joined a creative writing class shortly after retiring from the accounting sector.

“The first day I walked in I thought this might be interesting. By the time I walked out, I knew I had found my next career.”

Instilled with a new found passion for the written word, Mrs Roberts worked her way up the word count from poems to novellas, winning multiple short story competitions along the way.

Her latest and first full length offering is 75,000 words and tells a story of deceit and thievery in the Georgian era art world.

She said: “The book is about a thief, a painting and a debt repaid.

“More specifically, it is about the return of a stolen Turner painting to the Royal Academy before the Summer Exhibition.

“By focusing on a real painting that had been included in the 1805 Exhibition, I got the opportunity to travel up to London and do first hand research. The fascination for me is working out how they lived.”

Following a year of research and writing, Mrs Roberts set out on a mission to find a publisher at a Romantic Novelists Association Dinner and, after an evening of intense networking and manuscript circulating, won a contract with Accent Press.

“Getting published is an absolute dream,” said Mrs Roberts.

“I owe a lot to my husband Tony. He has been my biggest supporter and biggest helper.

“We have a lovely time trotting off to museums and parliament whenever I need to do some research.”

Flushed with the success of her first book, Mrs Roberts has begun writing a follow up which focuses on mid 1800s government.

The Hidden Legacy is now on sale through Amazon as an Ebook and paperback.