Taking her cue, Jane returned the driveway to gravel and restored the
“stone-floored hall” when she and Richard found flagstones buried under
layers of lino and parquet in the kitchen.

The couple kept the floor plan as close as possible to the original but
sacrificed a bedroom to create more bathrooms. They have also did work on
the gardens, making semicircular grass terraces wide enough for people to
sit on with picnic hampers. “It works like a little amphitheatre, so we can
have concerts and opera events to raise money for the church,” says Jane.

In All the Day Long, Maria’s father went out around the parish with his pony
called Nebuchadnezzar, or Neb. The Martins have converted the old stable
into a two-bedroom holiday cottage, which they have called Neb’s Cottage as
a tribute.

The couple have now reached the last page of this Cornish romance and want to
downsize. Jackson-Stops Staff (01872 261160) is selling the Old Vicarage,
which has five bedrooms, at £2.5 million.

Even as they sell, new writers are summoning stories from Cornwall’s buildings
and landscape. Liz Fenwick has just published A Cornish Stranger (Orion
£12.99), the third in a series of novels based in Cornwall. As her husband
Chris works in oil, they move around the world but keep a house in Cornwall
as a base. “I fell in love with the area in 1989,” she says. “It seemed the
most heavenly place on Earth. My husband proposed to me at Frenchman’s
Creek.”

Like Jane, Liz is hugely inspired by the area’s houses, which she studies
through estate agents’ details and floor plans. “I use the houses as
inspiration. They are the key. Just a tiny bit of history can give me enough
to see a whole new novel.”

CORNISH HIDEAWAYS FOR SALE

1. The Count House, Carbis Bay. A Grade II-listed house once lived in by the
potter Bernard Leach, with four bedrooms and an artist’s studio. Miller
Son (01736 798833) £565,000.

2. Orchard Cottage, Kellow, East Looe. Has two bedrooms, sea views and a
summerhouse. Bradleys (01503 264888) £285,000.