By Claire Cooper

An updated handbook about Lindfield past and present has been flying off the shelves of a Haywards Heath gift shop.

Simply titled ‘Lindfield’, the book, written and illustrated by local author Jane Reid, was one of the season’s bestsellers at Calliope gift shop in The Orchards, with the entire first batch snapped up in time for Christmas.

But there’s good news for those who missed out, as Jane recently hand delivered a new supply for 2020!

Jane, who has since written novels,
wrote the first version of ‘Lindfield’ in
1983, after being approached by a local
book seller while drawing in the village. “I
had been working in the High Street and
Alison Stevenson, who had just opened
a bookshop, noticed me,” Jane recalled.
“She asked me if I had ever considered
writing a guide to Lindfield, as she was often asked if such a book existed. I thought I would have a try and got the book in print later that year.”

The handbook proved to be so popular that Jane has produced several updated versions as the village has evolved. The last update was in 2008.

This latest and fifth version contains additional information about the Lindfield Preservation Society and famous former resident Helena Hall and, says Jane, is the best yet!

“I retyped the whole book from start to finish on my laptop so was able to update and correct lots of small details as I went along, such as the disappearance of swans from the village pond,” said Jane. “I’m so grateful to my friend Melvyn Walmsley for proofreading and helping to compile a much improved index. I’m delighted with both the content and quality of this new edition.”

Jane’s book, described on the Calliope store website as: ‘The perfect gift for everybody who knows and loves Lindfield’, ‘packed with delightful line illustrations’ and ‘a treasure trove of historical facts’, costs £5.

Jane, who has now published three novels – The Book of the Randalls, Family Gatherings and Rain in the Winter Garden, is now busy working on her latest book The Oakenfield Chronicles.