A BEST selling cookery author, whose family used to own the Richmond and Twickenham Times, turned her hand to mystery writing in a quest to discover the truth about her great-grandmother.

Josceline Dimbleby's search into her family's past began with a painting by pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones. The portrait of her great aunt Amy Gaskell had recently been bought by Andrew Lloyd Webber and delving into the past revealed a relationship between the artist and Amy's mother, May.

"Hardly anyone knows about their passionate relationship," explained Josceline, who through unpublished letters written by the artist portrayed a tale of love, romance, tragedy and real mystery in her book A Profound Secret'.

The book takes the reader through a turbulent period of British history which included the Boer War, the Great War and World War II.

"I started researching about two years ago because I have always been intrigued by the fact my great grandmother knew Burne-Jones very well," said Josceline. "He wrote to my great grandmother almost everyday, up to five times a day, for the last six years of his life, my grandmother was the last great passion of Burne-Jones."

Researching the book, Josceline trawled through large amounts of family material, giving her the chance to discover members of her family she didn't know existed. The name of the book comes from a statement made by Burne-Jones - that his relationship with May was a profound secret.

When asked about writing the book Josceline, said: "I found it totally gripping and exciting. It made me very aware of the genetic characteristics that go on through the generations.

"When I first discovered the information I didn't know what to do with it. It took me three years to write the book and it was the happiest three years of my life."

Soon to feature as a radio four book of the week with Josceline narrating and actors reading the letters, the book, published by Doubleday, is £20 and available from Waterstones.