AUTHOR Joanna Trollope has donated her handwritten manuscripts to Oxford’s Bodleian Library.

The donation includes research notes, letters, drafts of her 18 novels and short stories.

Ms Trollope said: “The Bodleian is the ideal home for my archive; I couldn't be more honoured. My association with Oxford goes back a long way and continues to this day.”

Known for her novels The Rector's Wife and The Choir, the author studied English Literature at St Hugh’s College from 1965 and 1967.Bodleian librarian Richard Ovenden said: “Joanna Trollope’s archive gives us an insight into the craft of an immensely popular writer and flag bearer for fiction. Her act of generosity to the Bodleian will be appreciated by literary and cultural historians and, through displays, the public who enjoy her writing so deeply.”