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Gladys Of Harlech
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About the Author

Rita Singer is a researcher with a special interest in Welsh writing in English during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She received her PhD from Leipzig University where she also taught seminars on literature and films from Wales. Louisa Matilda Spooner (1820-1886) was born in Maentwrog, the fifth of ten children, to English parents. The Cambrian Journal praised her first novel, Gladys of Harlech, for its 'true spirit of patriotism' at a time when few novels were 'illustrative of Welsh manners and customs, that a genuine Cymro could for a moment tolerate'.

Reviews

The Cambrian Journal praised it for it's 'true spirit of patriotism [which] penetrates... Gladys of Harlech, and gives life and vigour..., which is refreshing to contemplate.'

Latest in the Welsh Women's Classic series.

An author of historical and social novels, Louisa Matilda Spooner is a largely forgotten author of north Wales, whose life and work has been overshadowed by the family legacy surrounding the Ffestiniog Railway in the Porthmadog area.

Written in the decade following the Blue Books, Spooners Gladys is part of a national revival in which the historical novel functions as a corrective to the vilification of Welsh women in the Reports.

All three of Spooners novels have a strong local connection as they are set in her native Merionethshire.
*Honno*

This enchanting novel follows the extraordinary lives of three generations struggling to retain their inheritance during the Wars of the Roses. Gladys of the title is the granddaughter of Dafydd ap Jevan ap Einion, the chieftain of Harlech Castle.

As a young man, Dafydd responds to the call to fight in France to support his king and country. He leads and fights with honour and bravery and is rewarded for his patriotism by Henry VI. However, it is his cruel fate to be on the wrong side as the Yorkists fight for the crown and succeed in placing Edward IV on the throne, and the Lancastrian supporters fall from favour. Dafydd is driven from his ancestral home in Wales and retreats to the mountains to live in relative poverty with his family, hiding in the Welsh wilderness, hoping that times and fortunes will change.

Dafydds two sons are brought up with their strong and heroic father as a role model. For the younger son, this is sometimes too much pressure and, combined with an unrequited love, makes him see himself as a failure for much of his life. But the elder son, Tudor, is inspired and follows his father onto the battlefield. So, while the old family home of Harlech Castle is occupied by Saxons, the family struggles to retain its dignity and hope for a better future for Wales.

Whether in exile in France or hiding in her beloved mountains or being kept prisoner in her former home, Gladys is the hub of the story. Her acute awareness of her role as the heir to Harlech Castle is the guiding light for all her actions. She is utterly selfless and gives up her own chance of personal happiness in order to fulfil her destiny.

L. M. Spooner was writing in the mid-nineteenth century of events several hundred years earlier and, though she writes with a sometimes over-played archaic style, the fascination of the story and characters is gripping. She tends to exaggerate the role of the Welsh in the War of the Roses and her heroines are often a little too sweet, her heroes a little too honourable, but there are some pithy observations and some well-portrayed eccentrics dotting the pages. The entirely fictional Dewine, who intervenes in crucial events with her prophetic warnings and outrageous insults to all and sundry, is one such character. She chivvies and bullies the key players in the drama to fulfil their roles and cuts through the pomp and sycophancy of the Royal Court.

The sweep of history across the hills and streams of this beautiful country is extraordinary to comprehend: that there has been so much bloodshed and battle in order for there still to be a land called Wales. By fleshing out events and characters from so long ago, Spooner brought a reminder to her readers of the struggle and sacrifice that had been necessary for Wales to exist as it did when she was writing, and as it does for us today.

Lucy Walter


It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.

Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru.
*Welsh Books Council*

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