An extraordinary story of a woman who spent four years living in a haystack in Flax Bourton, near Bristol has been brought to life in a new historical novel just published.

Author Martin J. Powell first heard the tale of the woman, who prompted an 18th Century conspiracy theory, when he was writing articles for a local history magazine in the 1980s. Now, after years of research The Maid of The Haystack has been published by Bristol Books (£14).

Martin, a local journalist and writer, said: “For decades I found myself going back from time to time to look at this story again and try to find out who this woman was, why she acted so oddly and which of the many tales about her were true.

“She became something of a local celebrity with organised outings from Bristol to go to see her. Poetry was written about her, an oil painting of her was created and the great and good of Bristol and London society donated money and items to her.

“I first set out with the intention of writing a factual book about her but there was so much mystery and intrigue and so many conflicting theories about her that it eventually became a novel, based on true events.

“I always felt that history books often failed to give the reader a real insight into what life was really like in different periods. So, I set out to describe the sights, sounds and smells of Bristol and surrounding villages in the 1770s. I wanted to relate what was important to local people then.

“The Maid of the Haystack was eventually taken away by the great local philanthropist Hannah More and placed in an asylum. Characters such as John Wesley, Joshua Reynolds, David Garrick and  European royalty all play a part in her story as it unfolds.

“The story also holds a mirror up to attitudes to mental health, the treatment of women and acts of charity by the rich and famous, which have relevance to life today.”

Dubbed “an 18th century conspiracy mystery” the book faithfully recounts the story with the author creating local characters and drawing conclusions on who the mystery woman was and how she came to be in the haystack.

The Maid of the Haystack can be bought from Bristol Books CIC