Garthowen — A Story of a Welsh Homestead

Disgrifiad Saesneg / English Description

Garthowen: A Story of a Welsh Homestead (1900) is the third of Raine's novels to be republished by Honno, after Queen of the Rushes (1998) and A Welsh Witch (2013).

Archebu o flaen llaw

Os nad yw’r teitl hwn wedi’i gyhoeddi eto, gallwch ei archebu o flaen llaw. Byddwn yn dosbarthu eich eitem cyn gynted ag y bydd ar gael gan y cyflenwr ac wedi cyrraedd atom. Gall dyddiadau cyhoeddi newid.

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Dosbarthu

Byddwn yn dosbarthu eitemau sydd mewn stoc o fewn 3 diwrnod gwaith, fel arfer drwy Royal Mail Tracked 48. Ar gyfer archebion o flaen llaw, byddwn yn dosbarthu’r eitem o fewn 3 diwrnod gwaith ar ôl ei derbyn gan ein cyflenwr.

Dispatch

In-stock items will be dispatched within 3 business days, usually by Royal Mail Tracked 48. For pre-orders, we’ll dispatch within 3 business days of receiving the item from our supplier.

Bywgraffiad yr Awdur / Author Biography

Anne Adaliza Puddicombe ('Allen Raine') was born in Castellnewydd Emlyn (Newcastle Emlyn) in 1836, the daughter of solicitor Benjamin Evans and his wife Letitia. Raine began writing somewhat late in life with her first novel, A Welsh Singer, being published in 1896. She married banker Beynon Puddicombe in 1872, and after the onset of his illness, in 1900 the couple moved to Bronmôr, their home near Tresaith, west Wales. Raine wrote eleven novels and one collection of short stories. Her depiction of Welsh rural life, while decried by past critics as sentimental, shows some of the grittiest aspects of a life lived in a community where strict religion and social mores govern life. Raine died in 1908 of breast cancer and is buried in the churchyard of Penbryn church, where she and Beynon Puddicombe were married. Dr Juliet Larsen works for Amgueddfa Cymru/Museum Wales and has a PhD in the representation of religion, folk belief and the sacred landscape in Welsh women’s writing in English in the years 1847-1909. She is currently working on her first novel, set in the fictional Welsh valley of Cwm Mynach.

Adolygiad y Cyhoeddwr / Publisher Review

The Owens family, consisting of Ebben Owens, his children Gethin, Will, and Ann, and their lodger, Nonconformist minister Gwilym Morris, live in the eponymous homestead. Meanwhile, Sara ‘spridion’ (‘Spirit’ Sara), healer, spiritualist and clairvoyant, lives with her foster-daughter Morva. Will Owens wishes to become a vicar in the Anglican church, yet his father Ebben has lent the money needed for Will’s training to a chapel deacon. When, in desperation, Ebben Owens steals money from Gwilym Morris, suspicion lands on Will’s mischievous elder brother, Gethin. However, Sara and Morva attempt to prove their belief in Gethin’s innocence. Against this backdrop of social struggle, Raine also presents the love triangle between Morva, Will and Gethin. Morva's foster mother Sara ‘spridion’ is a menyw hysbys, or wise woman, representing in one figure the seemingly disparate elements of folklore and religion. Raine was part of both the liberal, nonconformist Unitarian and the Anglican traditions, and was also bilingual. In Garthowen Raine uses this dual position to comment on and critique religion, social aspirations and classism in rural Wales.