DARTMOUTH Academy has welcomed the donation of 15 books by town publisher Richard Webb. Mr Webb once held the world-record for the longest time for a book at number one in the bestseller charts for The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, the fourth bestselling book of the last 40 years in the UK. He has donated all the books he published on his home town of Dartmouth – from stunning picture books to learned books on both the town and the history of the Britannia Royal Naval College. The books are in pride of place in the library, facing visitors as they walk into the new academy building. And they are already proving useful as teaching aids for many of the academy's subjects, notably history and art. Mr Webb retired at the end of last year following 50 years in the publishing industry, including for a time working for Vogue magazine and running his own successful Exeter-based publishing company, Webb & Bower. He donated the books after seeing an appeal from academy librarian Liz Wilson for books to help boost the school's new library. Mr Webb offered all the books he has published over the last 15 years on Dartmouth itself – including histories by Ray Freeman, Don Collinson and Phil Scoble; picture books by photographer Nigel Evans; poetry from Kevin Pyne; and his latest book Dartmouth – An Enchanted Place by Joslin Fiennes. Mr Webb said: 'I'm delighted to support the academy with my set of Dartmouth books, not only to help their new library, but also so that the books will encourage their students to learn about the extraordinary history of our remarkable town.' Librarian Liz Wilson said: 'It's great to have Mr Webb's books on display in such a prominent position. They are already proving useful to our children and teachers and will clearly be a massive asset to our library. 'We are delighted with the response to our appeal for books, which has been brilliant and means we have an even better selection of titles on offer in our beautiful new building.' Academy principal Nick Hindmarsh said: 'We are so pleased to have these wonderful books available for our children. It's great to see we have such support in the community. Mr Webb's generosity is brilliant and the books he has donated will be helping in the education of Dartmouth children for years to come.'