Top novelist John Fowles is linking up with his old Oxford college to establish a retreat where writers can nurture their literary talents.

The 72-year-old plans to leave his home in Lyme Regis, Dorset, to a trust for writers.

The author of classics including The Magus and The French Lieutenant's Woman is bequeathing the house to an academic committee from Oxford University's New College, the University of East Anglia and other institutions.

The writer, who had a stroke in 1989 but has just remarried, hopes authors will benefit after his death from the inspiring atmosphere of the house and its garden, where he wrote many of his books.

He said he hoped to encourage young writers who were "not well looked after".

He added that his home would become a venue where writers would "come and stay, mix a little and get to know each other".

Mr Fowles has lived as a semi-recluse for some years. His wife of 33 years, Elizabeth, died in 1990. But the week before last, he remarried.

His new wife Sarah, who works in advertising and is on the literary trust, was last week helping him to recover from a broken ankle after he tripped over a flowerpot.

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