SMUGGLING, murder and a daring escape are some of the themes in a new novel by author Ruth Estevez.

Jiddy Vardy is set in the Robin Hood’s Bay of the 1700s and tells the story of a teenage girl and her embroilment in the area’s illicit trade.

Bradford-born Ruth was inspired by trips to the small Yorkshire fishing village and by a reference to a female smuggler in a book she discovered in a local shop.

Ruth, who grew up in Hawksworth, has already carved out a successful career as an author and as a scriptwriter for the BBC - notably on the children’s TV series Bob the Builder.

This is her first novel aimed at young adults.

She said: “Set in the late 1700s, Jiddy Vardy is loosely based on a real person who became a loyal part of the smuggling community of Robin Hood’s Bay in Yorkshire. Half-Italian, she is brought to the village by pirates and has to learn to survive in a tight knit community with a dangerous secret.

“Smuggling is important to an impoverished populace and questions are asked as to why a remote government should tell the people of Baytown how to live their lives.

“The book is about smuggling, murder, a daring escape and how to load a pistol but it is also about a 16 year old girl wanting friendship, love and a sense of belonging. She witnesses murder and violence but also finds the magic of kissing and power of identity.”

She added: “Jiddy Vardy is inspired by trips to Robin Hood’s Bay and wandering around the little ginnels and passageways of the coastal fishing village.

“The book was also inspired by a few pages in a local book on smuggling called A Rum Do! by Patricia Labistour. She mentioned a female smuggler who wasn’t from The Bay but who was an outsider and had dark hair and looks. Jiddy became a loyal Baytowner and gained the respect of the paler skinned locals.

“When I read this, I thought, I have to write about this person. I am very interested in the theme of belonging as well and finding our place, so Jiddy gave me the opportunity to explore this theme. “

Ruth now lives in Manchester - although she still travels frequently over the Pennines to her native Yorkshire. She has always worked in the arts, from Opera North to Emmerdale with a tour of the Yorkshire Dales with Harrogate Theatre-in Education Company in between. Her varied career has taken her to the Pitlochry Festival Theatre and to Shakespeare’s Globe.

Her novel Meeting Coty was released in 2007 and was based on her great aunt who worked in the perfume industry in the 1920s.

A newspaper photograph of a house on the edge of a collapsing cliff in Yorkshire was the inspiration for her book Erosion.

Ruth is currently working on her second novel for young adults, The Monster Belt, which is set in Yorkshire and the Mediterranean island of Formentera.

Jiddy Vardy is being published by new Manchester-based independent publishing house ZunTold - and it is the company’s second publication. A book launch was held at the end of June at Manchester’s Portico Library.

Specialising in fiction for children and young adults, this will be ZunTold’s first young adult offering.

Founder and managing director Elaine Bousfield said: ‘I’m thrilled about the launch of our second publication, Jiddy Vardy. Ruth is an extremely talented writer, with a unique style that we know is going to be a huge success in the young adult market. Here at ZunTold we’re passionate about diverse voices – and Jiddy’s is one-of-a-kind.’