Rape of the Fair Country

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When we refer to William Crawshay of Merthyr Tydfil we allude to a man who has done more for Glamorganshire, and perhaps for South Wales, than any other living individual. He was one of the few remarkable men who can give a character to a country and a tone to an age. In the extent of his speculations and unbounded enterprise, we cannot name another Cambrian who has done so much and so well or the Principality of Wales.” It's not just the story of the Mortymers, or even of Blaenavon and Nantyglo, but of the Chartist Movement and the birth of Trade Unionism. The events might be fictional, but they're true to the course of history, with Rape of the Fair Country ending with the disastrous Newport Rising of 1839. The research to write the book must have been extensive, but Cordell makes it seem effortless: momentous events viewed through the lense of a very human and likeable family. There also exist audio versions of the book in circulation read by Philip Madoc and there have been successive attempts to get the book made into a film. [3] My father] despised my generation for its refusal to grovel to authority as he had grovelled and his father before him."

Although Iestyn was the main character, I liked Dada as there was a strength of character in him but also a softer side and a sense of humour, not unlike some Welsh men that I know. Yes, indeed! You cheeky hobbledehoy! And Bacon the Pig before the Crawshays? God alive, we thought him bad enough. What right have you to march for freedom, Garndyrus, if you have not worked the firebox under Bacon and Crawshay? Tell me, have you seen Cyfarthfa by night even?” For more from Matt Addiss we can recommend his narrations of Princes Gate and Stalin's Gold, both written by Mark Ellis.

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There is no doubt that the cast expend their full energy in this mammoth production. Hedydd Dylan gives a superb performance as the spirited Morfydd; her diatribe on religion to the bossy Mrs Phillips is well delivered. Sion Ifan struggles to portray the eight year old Iestyn Mortymer, lapsing at times into caricature, but he acquits himself well when he comes of age later in the play. Christian Patterson, as Tomos Traherne, gives a good portrayal of the minister of peace frustrated by the inevitability of violence in improving the workers’ lot. The clever setting of narrative passages to popular hymn tunes works well and the cast voices and harmonies are beautiful rendered.

There were elements I did enjoy in the latter half of the book. The book does well to capture the community control of the Scotch Cattle and the excitement surrounding the growing Chartist movement. Zephaniah Williams and John Frost were and are giants of the working class campaign for universal (male) suffrage, political transparency and fairness for all. Industrially it was volatile moment in Welsh history and radical politics and protest came to the fore against shameful exploitation and destruction, there were even whispers of a Welsh Republic. If you can get past the title, which makes it sound like a Mills and Boon bodice-ripper, the rewards are great! This is the delightful, though, at times, harrowing tale of Iestyn Mortymer, a boy from Blaenavon caught up in the birth of the unions and Chartism amidst the beauty of the Brecon hills and valleys, brought to life by another Blaenavon boy, Matt Addis. I have walked from Merthyr hand in hand with St Tydfil,” he said. “I have been splashed eight times and blinded, but the saint led me across The Top to the great Zephaniah Williams, for I put no trust in our mad Dr. Price. I put my trust in no man but Williams, whom I once saw spit at the feet of Robert Crawshay, who starved us.”I would listen to this again and again, I had read the book before (hard copy) and enjoyed it but this added a new dimension Don’t get me wrong, I love my Welsh history, but even I only just managed to keep up with where Eames was leading. It all felt like there was too much ‘telling’; as though I’d turned up at a history lecture and needed a fast recap on last week’s notes. And that’s fine if you already know what’s going on, but if you are hoping for some kind of introduction to Welsh history, I’m afraid you are going to feel excluded by Eames’s adaptation, and this seemed to cater only for those already initiated. What I loved about the book was the simple but extremely powerful narrative style which Matt Addis captured brilliantly. As with anyone's life, there are moments of sheer joy coupled with the day-to-day 'slog' as well as huge, earth-shattering tragedies. I loved the fact that some of the most poignant episodes in the book are described so perfectly and then simply dismissed; life moves on and the shadow of the event lingers but the characters' lives continue onwards, as the need to survive dictates, without dwelling on the past. What does Matt Addis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Although there are flaws in this book - the place of the Welsh language in the narrative, and the inaccurate use of "Wenglish", the portrayal of women, and many of the historical details, this is nevertheless a powerful, powerful story. It is a small village tale which is a part of a huge, ultimately worldwide movement - the birth of socialism, collective bargaining and universal suffrage. For it is greed you are discussing not politics. And until greed is taken from the hearts of men you will always have masters and poor, and which way round it is matters little"The plot concerns the Welsh iron-making communities of Blaenavon and Nantyglo in the 19th century. The action is seen through the eyes of young Iestyn Mortymer who grows up in times of growing tensions between ironmasters and trade unionists. In 1826, when the book starts, Iestyn is eight years old and already beginning work at the Garndyrus furnaces near Blaenavon. His sister Morfydd has strong feelings about women and children working in mines and ironworks. She sympathises with the Chartist movement and condemns the action of the militant Scotch Cattle groups. In this she is in opposition to Hywel Mortymer, their conservative father who later begins to question his own loyalty to the ironmaster. The owners will not negotiate and we have been sitting tight for too long. It is war if they insist in it. It has taken me twenty years of loyalty to learn that they make profits out of peace”.