ONE of Bournemouth's best-known authors was commemorated by the unveiling of a distinctive blue plaque on Wednesday.

Flora Thompson joined the great names of Mary Shelley and Robert Louis Stevenson in being honoured on plaques in the town to celebrate her achievements.

She wrote the popular series of books which inspired the recent BBC drama Lark Rise to Candleford, based on the lives of rural communities in the late nineteenth century.

Star of the television series, Olivia Hallinan, helped unveil the plaque alongside the Mayor of Bournemouth, Councillor Mrs Anne Filer.

Miss Hallinan said: "I found playing the lead character a joy. It made me really interested in Flora's background.

"It is especially nice to have the opportunity to meet her family."

Flora began writing after moving to Winton in 1905. Her most notable publications were the semi-autobiographical Lark Rise, Over to Candleford and Candleford Green, which inspired the Sunday night drama.

Speaking at the ceremony at 2 Edgehill Road, Winton, where Flora Thompson lived for a few years, Councillor Filer described the unveiling as "exciting".

"It adds to the rich literary history of Bournemouth," she said.

Surviving relatives and the author of Flora Thompson's biography, Gillian Lindsay, also joined the celebrations.

Mrs Lindsay said: "Flora would be amazed by the plaque; she was such a modest person.

"The fact that she achieved publication in Winton made this place all the more significant in her life."

The celebration of her work comes as part of this year's National Year of Reading.