A LITTLE known manuscript providing a unique insight into the life and times of an Exmoor village in the 1960s and penned by one of its most famous residents is about to reach a wider audience. Author, artist and naturalist Hope Bourne, who lived a life of self sufficiency on the moor for more than 60 years, wrote 'A Village of the Moor' about Withypool, where she lived for many years. But the manuscript, contained in little orange folders, lay in a box for decades until newly appointed archivist for the Exmoor Society, Dr Helen Blackman, found it. Dr Blackman has just begun a two-year post with the society to preserve, catalogue, put in order and store a wide range of material. "To be honest I didn't quite register its significance because I was a few weeks into a new job," she said. The manuscript had been given originally to Victor Bonham-Carter, who was the society's chairman at the time and also editor of the Exmoor Press. Although he felt it was inappropriate for publication, he had the book typed. Hope died in 2010, aged 91, and left all her estate to the society, of which she was a staunch supporter. And the organisation now believes the long lost manuscript has relevance as social history so has agreed to its publication. It will hit the shelves, courtesy of niche publisher Halsgrove, in spring 2015. Partner Steven Pugsley said: "What it is, is Hope's understanding of the place where she lived, peopled by those whom she knew and loved and her journey of discovering what her home was all about."