There are many ingredients that help to create a good book, but the main one is to have an original idea -- a good, old-fashioned scoop. Retired design engineer Reg Edmondson felt that he had the recipe for success: how about writing a unique food guide with a twist, based on the pubs, inns and hotels that are connected to Charles Dickens? For over twenty years, Edmondson had been fascinated with the life and works of Dickens, and had started to collect and catalogue information and memorabilia from several eateries that had featured in Dickens' novels. He travelled all over the country enjoying his hobby, but didn't feel that the time was right to try to go from the plate to the printed page. Edmondson says: " It has taken the Delia effect, plus the popularity of cookery programmes and celebrity chefs like Rick Stein and Jamie Oliver to make us change our attitude to food and eating out in this country. When I started to see imaginative and exciting menus appearing in pubs instead of the usual ploughman's and curled-up sandwiches, I knew that there was a chance the book would fill a gap in the market."

The concept seemed wonderful, but the task of compiling the guide was enormous. In the meantime, Edmondson had joined the Rochester branch of the Dickens Fellowship, and began attending meetings and Dickens evenings at Gad's Hill in Kent (Dickens' last home). On one of these occasions, Edmondson met Cedric Charles Dickens, great-grandson of the author. He told Dickens about his idea for the book, under the working title of Drive and Dine with Dickens. Dickens' enthusiasm for the project encouraged Edmondson to go ahead in earnest; he enlisted the help of fellow Dickensian and foodie, Ron Cook, plus some willing taste testers, to follow in Dickens' footsteps. It took over two years to visit the eateries chosen for the final book, and the authors agree that the eating out was the easy part! Cook says: "We spent hours hunched over desks in the Dickens House Museum* in London, sorting the fact from the fiction, trying to unearth all the inns and taverns in Britain where Dickens stayed or where he sent his characters."

In the end, they discovered all sorts of places both in towns and cities, and off the beaten track, ranging from rural inns to stylish gastropubs and fine hotels. Once a format was decided, they began to compile the guide working county-by-county. "Suddenly we'd find another inn out of the blue," says Edmondson. "Editorial pages were being shuffled all the time. My wife and I were having a day out and chanced upon the fabulous Crown Inn at Sarre in Kent, so, of course, it had to go in the book. But we hadn't come across it before in our research."

Edmondson and Cook decided to concentrate on their favourite 101 eateries, plus a few "second helpings", giving brief notes on the places that arrived on their desks too close to the deadline for a proper write-up. "We were also conscious of the fact that our final selection had to appeal to all tastes and budgets," adds Cook. Both keen historians, they have also added detailed sections on the history of each place, plus plenty of interesting snippets of information along the way! But the mouthwatering food on offer and the opportunity to eat out with Dickens or Pickwick or Sikes is what makes the guide unique. "What delighted and surprised us most is that although the inns and hotels had a wonderful ambience, and it was possible to imagine how they would have been in Dickens' day, we were enjoying delicious, international cuisine. It was also good to see the use of fresh, local produce and seasonal ingredients on many menus," says Edmondson. And for all the Dickensians on the other side of the Atlantic, they have devoted over 20 pages to Dickens' two tours, where he was wined and dined across America. The copy provides a fascinating insight into Dickens' feelings, as well as American culture and eating habits.

Graphics wizard, Peter Park, came "on board" in the final year of the project to turn the flat plan into eye-catching pages. "The end result is a book worthy of all the travelling done by the intrepid two," says Dickens, who agreed to write the foreword to the book. "I am delighted to be associated with their endeavours. There is something in it for everyone, including the food lover, the traveller, and fans of Dickens. It has been fun to produce and publish this new book, and I hope that the Dickens connection helps all the places mentioned to stay in existence for another hundred years."

*The Dickens Museum, 48 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LF.