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Friday, February 16, 2007

Ten essential books on Wales and the Welsh

You may have noticed that I'm a Welshman. Wales has a fascinating history from both a secular and spiritual point of view. Here is a select list of Welsh history and biography. All are recent works, published from the 1980's to the present. One of the authors is not Welsh, but his subject is one of the towering figures of recent Welsh history. The bibliography is a mixture or spiritual and secular writing. All the books are in English. Listed alphabetically by author's surname. (OUP = Oxford University Press)

1. Eifion Evans, Daniel Rowland and the Great Awakening in Wales (Banner of Truth Trust, 1985)
2. R. R. Davies, The Age of Conquest, Wales 1063-1415 (OUP paperback, 1991)
3. R. R. Davies, The Revolt of Glyn Dwr (OUP paperback, 1997)
4. Noel Gibbard, Fire on the Altar, A history and evaluation of the 1904-05 Welsh Revival Bryntirion Press, 2005)
5. Geraint H. Jenkins, The Foundations of Modern Wales 1642-1780 (OUP paperback, 1993)
6. Iain H. Murray, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The First Forty Years, 1899-1939 (Banner of Truth Trust, 1982) & D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Fight of Faith, 1939-1981 (Banner of Truth Trust, 1990
7. Kenneth O. Morgan, Rebirth of a Nation, The History of Modern Wales, (OUP paperback, 1998)
8. Byron Rogers, The Man Who Went into the West, The Life of R. S. Thomas (Aurum, 2006)
9. Geraint Tudur, Howell Harris, From Conversion to Separation 1735-1750 (University Press of Wales, 2000)
10. Glanmor Williams, Renewal and Reformation, Wales c.1415-1642 (OUP Paperback, 1993)

Just for fun, which book did I recently review?

Brecon Beacons, South Wales

4 comments:

Chris Tilling said...

You forgot one:

The Geographical Origin of Madness and Silly Accents, by Prince Charles

Guy Davies said...

Prince Charles? He's no true Prince of Wales, but a tyrannical English usurper, boyo!

michael jensen said...

So, more seriously: would you be in favour of Welsh indepedence?

Guy Davies said...

Michael,

I'd prefer to stick around and annoy the English. Not even Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Nationalist party wants full independence. Wales is too small a country to make it on our own. Better to stay as part of the UK as far as I'm concerned.