A SAFFRON Walden mum-of-three is on the verge of making literary history after penning one of the fastest-selling paperbacks in a publishing company s history. Clare Mulley s award-winning biography of Save the Children founder Eglantyne Jebb is set to sm

A SAFFRON Walden mum-of-three is on the verge of making literary history after penning one of the fastest-selling paperbacks in a publishing company's history.

Clare Mulley's award-winning biography of Save the Children founder Eglantyne Jebb is set to smash previous sales records.

According to projected figures, up to 10,000 copies of The Woman Who Saved the Children could be sold within days of its launch on Mother's Day.

It means the biography - one of PM Gordon Brown's favourite reads - is set to become the quickest-selling paperback in the 26-year history of the book's publisher, Oneworld Publications.

Clare, 40, could also top the book charts after bookseller Waterstones snapped up the title for a three-for-two promotion.

Clare, a former Save the Children volunteer, said her fascination with Eglantyne Jebb was sparked in the late 1990s when she started looking into the life of the charity's founder.

Within days, she said, "I was totally hooked. I realised very quickly that her work permanently changed the way that the world treats children, but that very little had been written about her as a person.

"Over the years, I managed to read her love letters and family scrap books, eat from her plates, sleep in her nursery and hold a curl of her baby hair. I even bought her signature on eBay."

Incredibly Clare has no formal writing experience and juggled round-the-clock research with motherhood for almost seven years.

Since the hardcover's publication in 2007, the 350-page book has won the hearts of critics and readers alike.

The Prime Minister said: "This is a truly brilliant book about a woman who changed the world forever, and for the better."

Now the book is set to be released in paperback on March 14, to coincide with Mothering Sunday and Women's History Month.

The Woman Who Saved the Children goes on sale priced �9.99 on March 14. Signed copies are available from claremulley.com

All royalties from its sale go to Save the Children and its Haiti appeal.