Paedophile ring victim proud to be a bestseller: Dana Fowley's story of her horrific ordeal sells 70,000 copies

The book, entitled How Could She?, is the UK's biggest selling non-fiction work released so far this year, with recorded sales of about 70,000.

The story of her ordeal at the hands of her mother, Caroline Dunsmore, and a ring of paedophiles also topped the bestseller charts for seven straight weeks.

Ms Fowley today said she was "delighted" with the success of the book, which last week remained at number two in the non-fiction chart. The 29-year-old is now in talks over making a documentary about the child abuse she endured alongside her younger sister.

The book had been pulled from the shelves last year amid fears it would prejudice upcoming trials of other suspects, but the collapse of a trial against two men last September after her mother changed her evidence in court freed up its publication.

Ms Fowley co-wrote the book with author Jean Ritchie, who also penned an acclaimed biography of Moors murderer Myra Hindley.

As part of their research, the pair visited a home in Muirhouse Green, dubbed the "House of Hell" in the book, where Ms Fowley was first gang-raped at the age of six by her mother, step-dad Billy King and his parents, Peter and Mary King.

Ms Fowley said: "I'm really chuffed that the book is doing so well. I never thought it would sell so many copies and go to number one. I'm just delighted.

"I'm really proud of the book and I'm not ashamed about telling people what happened to me. I know that other child abuse victims had read it because they've sent me messages and told me how it helped them.

"Reading the book may have downsides, but it also has a positive message because I came out at the end of it all."

Ms Fowley was interviewed on ITV's This Morning programme to promote the book, as well as on radio stations across the country.

She added: "I was very nervous before I went on, but everyone in the studio made me feel at ease. I'm hoping the documentary will go ahead, but we're in quite early talks with the BBC.

"Writing the book and telling my story is therapeutic, and I hope it can help other people who have gone through the same kind of things as me."

Ms Fowley received a six-figure deal from publisher Random House for her story and is set to receive a percentage of each copy sold.

Ms Fowley and her sister were systematically raped over the course of 12 years, up to 1997.

Dunsmore is serving 12 years for her role while Morris Petch received a life sentence and John O'Flaherty was handed a 13-year term. Peter, Mary and Billy King all died a number of years before the cases came to court.

Kate Elton, publisher with Arrow, the Random House imprint which put out Ms Fowley's book, said: "We're hugely pleased that, not only did How Could She? go straight to number one in the paperback non-fiction chart, but that it's still selling on so strongly after 12 weeks, with seven weeks at number one."

BIGGER THAN SUBO AND JORDAN

DANA Fowley's memoir about the child abuse she suffered sold 64,460 copies in the eight weeks up to 21 March.

Her book eclipsed a biography by Alice Montgomery of singer Susan Boyle, entitled Dreams Can Come True, which sold 26,360 copies in the six weeks up to the same date.

Released at the same time as How Could She? the inside story of a celebrity couple's divorce, Katie v Peter by Emily Herbert, managed 40,480 sales.

Toppling Ms Fowley's book from the top perch for non-fiction on 21 March was Gypsy Boy by Mikey Walsh, which sold 32,045 copies in its first six weeks.

But any author would be hard pushed to top Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, which has sold more than 1.3 million copies.