LOUIS DE BERNIERES - DE BERNIERES ENDS FANS' DECADE-LONG WAIT

Celebrated author LOUIS DE BERNIERES has delighted fans by writing a sequel to his best-selling book and Hollywood film inspiration CAPTAIN CORELLI'S MANDOLIN.

After a ten-year wait the 49-year-old has completed BIRDS WITHOUT WINGS, which like its predecessor is set in the eastern Mediterranean during a period of political upheaval.

Bernieres explains, "It's difficult to write when it seems the whole world is looking over your shoulders. It was much easier before, when I was almost unknown. It was a much more innocent process."