Gladys of Harlech (Welsh Womens Classics 26) - Softcover

L.M. Spooner; Rita Singer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1909983543 ISBN 13: 9781909983540

Publisher: Honno Welsh Women's Press, 2017

Synopsis

Gladys of Harlech was first published anonymously in 1858. The novel is set during the Wars of the Roses in the mid-15th century and tells the story of Gladys, granddaughter of the last Welsh keeper of Harlech, and her family.

Fighting on the side of the House of Lancaster, Gladys and her family flee into hiding in the mountains after Harlech Castle falls into the hands of the Yorkists at the end of a long siege.

Years later, the new tyrant steward of Harlech, Sir Gilbert Stacey, captures Gladys and presses her into serfdom, not knowing he has caught the heiress of the castle. During her arrest, Gladys falls in love with young Ethelred Conyers, but finds herself trapped between her sense of duty for her oppressed people and her affection for the young English nobleman.

After escaping from Harlech , Gladys is sent on a quest to France by the Dewiness, a soothsaying witch. The Dewiness hopes the beautiful Welsh princess will lure Henry Tudor out of his French exile to free England and Wales from the clutches of King Richard III. Switching sides and joining the cause of the Red Rose, Ethelred follows Gladys on her dangerous journey.

The novel ends on a bittersweet note as Gladys separates from Ethelred and dedicates the rest of her life to serve as guardian of her people having won back their freedom from the newly crowned Henry VII.

About this title

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’.

Edition details

• Publisher: Honno Welsh Women's Press
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1909983543
• ISBN 13: 9781909983540
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400