WHEN author Catherine Beale uncovered the story of Johnny Arkwright, she knew he was better than any fictional character she could create.

"Johnny was such a gift," she says. "He was so much fun to be around and he writes so many slightly outrageous things. He used to go to meetings with the future Edward VII and writes 'HRH was at our meeting this morning, looking very fat'."

Catherine follows the life of Johnny, great-grandson of Sir Richard Arkwright, the Cromford mill-owner, in her book Champagne and Shambles, "a real-life period drama", which is now out in paperback.

She explains: "It's written to be read like a novel but it's all actually true. A lot of people asked me if I'd thought of fictionalising it, but, because the collection [of papers and letters] was so exceptional, I felt I really had to do it justice. Somehow fictionalising it would put uncertainty in the mind of the reader."

Johnny, born in 1833, lived his whole life at Hampton Court in Herefordshire (not to be confused with London's Hampton Court Palace) until his death in 1905 and, as much as Catherine's book is Johnny's story, it's also the story of the decline of the English country house.

In 1858, Johnny's father – also called John – died.

Says Catherine: "Johnny, as a bachelor of 24 with an income of £10,000 a year, inherits this fairytale castle and about 10-and-a-half thousand acres of lovely fertile countryside and forest."

But there's no fairytale ending for Johnny and, by the end of his life, he had been forced to mortgage part of the estate.

"He's part of this whole generation that seems to inherit the earth and actually loses it, through no fault of their own, largely," says Catherine.

"The interesting thing is that everyone thinks this will be the story of a rake but he does everything right by his estate – he spends a fortune improving the soil and the tenants' farms and getting better conditions for the labourers and he's at the forefront of what you should be doing in agriculture at this time and yet it all goes horribly wrong."

But Johnny was no stranger to the high life.

"The title comes from a lovely quote of his: 'I'm in an awful state of depression which nothing but champagne can remove'. That told me quite a lot about the man," says Catherine.

"He's actually great fun – the kind of guy who walks into a room and you feel like the party is about to begin.

"He doesn't do anything by halves and he's remembered at Oxford as the most popular man in the college, he falls headlong in love with his wife and he gets called up in front of the dean at Christ Church, Oxford, for sinking somebody's punt."

Catherine speaks with genuine affection for Johnny whose story, she believes, helps bring the Victorians alive to modern readers.

"He so often confounds what you think about the Victorian father. He loves playing with his kids, he writes endlessly about what they've been doing."

Catherine, 44, is now a full-time writer but previously worked for Tootal, based in Belper and Cromford at the very mill built by Sir Richard Arkwright.

"I returned to Cromford recently to give a talk to the Arkwright Society there, which was great fun," says Catherine. "It's a lovely part of the world to be in and, with the book, it's nice to be able to connect where I'm from and I where I used to work."

Now back in her home county of Herefordshire, Catherine is a regular visitor to Hampton Court with her five-year-old daughter Genevieve.

She is currently working on an idea for a new book.

"I can't say too much but there's something in the offing, possibly with an Olympic connection.

"I'm also interested in writing about the first John who came to Hampton Court. His wife – Johnny's mother – was from an estate called Harewood, near Ross-on-Wye. Because there was an age difference of 23 years between Johnny's father and his mother, there was no end of gossip."

CHAMPAGNE AND SHAMBLES

BY: Catherine Beale.

PUBLISHER: The History Press.

PRICE: £12.99.