Cambrian Tales appeared in serialised form in Ainsworth’s Magazine from March 1849 to March 1850 and has not previously been published as a novel.Like the political pamphlet Artegall, also included in this volume, it constitutes part of Jane Williams’ attempts to defend Wales against the notorious ‘Blue Books’, the 1847 government report which damned the Welsh as ignorant, immoral, and barbaric.A comedy of manners, set in and around a Welsh country house, it features characters clearly modelled on Ysgafell’s patron, Lady Llanover, and her social circle.Also included are two representative poems, one from Celtic Fables (1862), a feminist reworking of ancient legend, and the previously unpublished ‘A Petition’ in which a night-cap maker protests against her dire exploitation.Ysgafell’s social conscience, her patriotism, and her sardonic humour are evident throughout the volume.
Sobre o autor
Earlier publications by Gwyneth Tyson Roberts (1943 – 2022) include The Language of the Blue Books: The Perfect Instrument of Empire (1998), reprinted in 2011 as The Language of the Blue Books: Wales and Colonial Prejudice, and the critical biography Jane Williams (Ysgafell) (2020). A brief account of her life and work is appended as a preface to this volume.