The Brexit debates confirmed how Wales’s relationship to Europe has for too long been discussed exclusively, narrowly and suffocatingly in terms of its social, political and economic aspects. As a contrast, this volume sets out to explore the rich, inventive and exhilarating spectrum of pro-European sentiment evident from 1848 to 1980 in the writings of Welsh intellectuals and creative writers. It ranges from the era of O. M. Edwards, through the interwar period when both right wing (Saunders Lewis) and left wing (Cyril Cule) ideologies clashed, to the post-war age when major writers such as Emyr Humphreys and Raymond Williams became influential. This study clearly demonstrates that far from being insular and parochial, Welsh culture has long been hospitably internationalist. As the very title Eutopia concedes, there have of course been frequently utopian aspects to Wales’s dreams of Europe. However, while some may choose to dismiss them as examples of mere wishful thinking, others may fruitfully appreciate their aspirational and inspirational aspects.
Table of Content
Series Editors’ Preface
Epigraphs
Preface
Introduction
1 The Europe of Welsh Nonconformity
2 The Welsh Whig Version of Europe
3 The Little Five-Foot-Five Nations
4 The Europe of the Cultural Right
5 From Spain to Scandinavia
6 Europe, West to East
7 The Female Europa, the Rhondda Europeans and Welsh Symbolism
8 Surrealism, the War and After
9 Onwards Towards Union
Index
About the author
This study will appeal to students and academics as well as the general reader.
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