This week sees the extraordinary book  Pity the Swagman: The Australian Odyssey of a Victorian Diarist  by Bethan Phillips republished. Described by the late Jan Morris as “a truly fascinating book”,  Pity the Swagman  is a classic that has been out of print for over twenty years.  The book is the biography of Joseph Jenkins (1818-98) who was a successful farmer in Tregaron in west Wales. Without warning, aged 50, he left his farm and family to travel Australia and live as an itinerant farm labourer. His diaries returned to Wales with him and were kept by one of his...

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Jac  by Sam Adams (Y Lolfa) is a novel of boyhood novel set in a south Wales Valley during the Second World War (1939-1945). Described as “a lyrical and beautifully crafted story of growing up in the Valleys in the shadow of World War II” by poet, essayist and editor John Barnie, the novel follows Jac, a young boy at the start of the story, as he grows in awareness of the world beyond his home and family. Author Sam Adams says: “I wrote the novel to recall a lost age – wartime and the era of coal production in south Wales; the realities of the time. I also wanted to explore and...

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This week sees the publication of a bilingual English/Welsh history of an amazing Petition that sought world peace. The Petition, started in Wales in the wake of World War I, asked American women to work alongside the women of Wales in the name of peace and held almost 400,000 signatures – a significant percentage of the female population of the day.  2023 marks the petition’s centenary, and for the first time the inspiring story is available in book form,  The Appeal – The Remarkable Story of the Welsh Women’s Peace Petition 1923–24  (Y Lolfa), edited by Mererid Hopwood and...

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Llanelli-raised Dr Mari Morgan emigrated to the United States in 1996 to pursue a career as a classical singer.  Braids of Song: Weaving Welsh Music into the American Soul  (Y Lolfa) by Mari Morgan evokes the experiences of other Welsh people who have ventured across the Pond to follow their musical dreams. Mari Morgan asks: “Do you ever wonder what happens when a person moves to a new country? Do they change? Does the way they sing stay with the old or blend with the new? And if they are creative types – what happens to their artistic output?”  Several voices tell their...

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BUY IT HERE - The Greatest Sporting Family in History: The Blue & Black Brothers Terry  Breverton , who has been translated into languages as varied as Chinese, Japanese and Turkish, recalls the almost forgotten eight brothers who all played for Cardiff Rugby Club, when it was universally acknowledged as the ‘ greatest rugby club in the world’ . For forty years to 1974, in every season at least one of the brothers was a regular first team member, and the youngest four brothers sometimes all played together. The careers of four of the brothers were halted because of World War...

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A new book published this week offers a glimpse into some special words and phrases that are unique to Wales. From well-known words such as  cwtsh ,  hiraeth ,  crachach  and  Jac Codi Baw  to lesser used words and phrases such as  paneidio ,  ansparadigeaethus  and  pendramwnwgl   Wales in 100 Words  is an off-beat collection of words that are in some way unique, evocative and special. Some are ancient and derive from Early Welsh, and others like  dim gobaith caneri  draw on Wales’s rich cultural and social heritage and many like  popty-ping  and  co bach  are new-born inventive...

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A new book published by Y Lolfa aims to transform the way people think about Welsh independence. Authors Jim Wingate and Jen Llywelyn share personal experiences and practical exercises in this compact book that aims to decolonise minds.     The book,  20 Radical Steps to Welsh Independence: By first decolonising our minds , is a self-help guide, giving the reader various examples and actions to transform the way the reader thinks about Wales. Jim has worked in 21 independent countries and uses that experience to show how things need to change in Wales. Jim and Jen say: “There’s...

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The 24 th  of April sees the release of a new book  Charles and the Welsh Revolt: The Explosive Start to King Charles III’s Royal Career  by Arwel Vittle. Charles' Investiture in 1969 marked a turning point in Welsh history. Feelings ran high about the installation of an English Prince of Wales, and there was almost open warfare between the police and young Welsh protesters. Demos and protests, dramatic stunts from the quasi-paramilitary Free Wales Army, hunger strikes, rifts in the Welsh Establishment, secret police, agents provocateurs and a well-organised bombing campaign - this book...

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Gêm Fwrdd sy’n ail Fyw Rhyfel Glyndŵr Dros Annibyniaeth Mae’r Lolfa newydd ryddhau gêm fwrdd newydd Gymraeg sy’n ail-fyw gwrthryfel Owain Glyndŵr rhwng 1400-1405. Mae bwrdd y gêm wedi ei seilio ar fap o Gymru’r cyfnod ac yn cynnwys lleoliadau’r cestyll a’r brwydrau. Mae’r holl ddarnau a’r cardiau wedi eu creu yn bwrpasol i roi naws ac ymdeimlad cryf o’r canol oesoedd ac i gynnig profiad i’r rhai sy'n chwarae. Dyma’r gêm Gymraeg wreiddiol gyntaf i gael ei chyhoeddi ers blynyddoedd maith Mae ar werth yn awr yn y Siopau Llyfrau Cymraeg am £25 a  www.ylolfa.com  am £30 yn...

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From the end of the First World War in November 1918 until the fall of the last Liberal-led government in October 1922, Margaret Lloyd George, wife of David Lloyd George, “the Man who Won the War”, pursued an unprecedented series of political campaigns between all compass points of England and Wales. It was unprecedented for a “First Lady” to campaign on the political hustings, except in their husband’s own constituency. By and large, it has never been repeated in this manner. The Campaigns of Margaret Lloyd George ,  published on 24 th  October 2022 (almost a century to...

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Back in 2014 many were shocked when it was reported that the priceless religious artefact known as the Nanteos Cup had been stolen from its owner’s home in Herefordshire. The Nanteos Cup is an ancient wooden bowl which for many years was kept at the Mid Wales mansion called Nanteos, whence the vessel derived its name. It is believed to have originated from the medieval Cistercian abbey of Strata Florida. In 2015 the Cup was recovered by police and in 2016 it was given a new home in the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth where it remains on permanent display. Many...

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Ddydd Sadwrn yma bydd y cofiant cyntaf llawn i Dic Penderyn yn cael ei lansio. Gellir prynu Dic Penderyn: The Man and the Martyr gan Sally Roberts Jones yn www.ylolfa.com  ac mewn siopau llyfrau am £9.99. Dilynwch y ddolen  yma  am wybodaeth lawn. This Saturday the first full biography of Dic Penderyn will be launched. Dic Penderyn: The Man and the Martyr, by Sally Roberts Jones is available in bookshops and  www.ylolfa.com  for £9.99. Follow this  link  for more details. Dic Penderyn: The Man and the Martyr  will be launched at 10:30am on Saturday, 30 th  July at Aberafan...

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Chapel and Rugby. The lodestars of Welsh cultural life in the twentieth century.  One proclaiming peace and love and the promise of everlasting paradise. The other a brutal  release of pent-up aggression. What happens when the two come into conflict? Last Match by debut novelist Martin Rhys answers that question in what early reviews label  ‘an authentic and compelling story’. Colin Lewis looks set to become Wales’s next rugby superstar. International fame can only  be a matter of time.  But the time is 1939, and off the field, Colin is a different person. For a...

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Mae'r Lolfa newydd ryddhau argraffiad newydd clawr meddal o Hands off Wales gan Dr Wyn Thomas. Mae'r gyfrol 450 tudalen ar werth mewn siopau llyfrau a  www.ylolfa.com  am £19.99 (yn cynnwys cludiant) Y Lolfa have released a new paperback edition of Hands of Wales by Dr Wyn Thomas. The 450pp book is avialable in bookshops and  www.ylolfa.com  for £19.99 (p&p inc). Destined to be the definitive historical analysis of the events leading up to Welsh devolution  - John Jenkins An important book on an important topic in both Welsh and British history  - Dr Martin Johnes...

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"Partly as a small curtain-raiser for my coming book The Snow Leopard of Moscow & Other Stories  and partly in the context of what's happening in Ukraine, I've posted on my website some photos I took at Chekhov's house, with some thoughts thereon. The book will be out  shortly, later this month, all being well. Updates on my site and on Facebook as things hopefully click into place.  With best wishes, Matthew G. Rees" www.matthewgrees.com/events- contact

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An extremely comprehensive, fully illustrated guide to the history and evolution of the castle under Wales' native rulers (c.1066-1283). Spectacular aerial photography, plans and reconstruction drawings examine the various architectural designs and layouts that created the distinctive form of the Welsh castle. 378 pages, full colour, fully illustrated. Canllaw cynhwysfawr dros ben, wedi'i ddarlunio'n llawn, i hanes ac esblygiad y castell Cymreig yng nghyfnod ei thywysogion cynhenid (c.1066-1283). Ceir ffotograffau trawiadol o'r awyr, cynlluniau ac ail-luniadau o'r adeiladau gan...

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Wales is known as ‘the land of song’ and the Welsh are renowned for their love of hymns – perhaps no other nation has sung them with such fervour. This passion is celebrated in a new comprehensive history of hymn writing and singing in Wales and amongst the Welsh diaspora in North America.  A Nation of Singing Birds: Sermon and Song in Wales and Among the Welsh in America  by Ronald Rees looks at the time between the Protestant Revivals in the late 18 th  century until the present day. Described as “Lively, entertaining, and valuable – a real gem” by the journalist, presenter...

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In 2020 the people of Cwmbwrla came together in the face of an unprecedented health crisis to put smiles on each other’s faced and food on each other’s tables. Neighbours became friends, and together they showed Swansea at its best. We believe their stories are worth telling, and contributors including Brynhyfryd-born Mal Pope, local author David Brayley, MP Carolyn Harris and Councillor Peter Black agree. “ Circling the Square: Cwmbwrla, Coronavirus and Community” tells the stories of individuals, families and groups whose acts of kindness and quiet courage have improved...

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Click for more from Alan Bilton on AmeriCymru ... Central Russia, 1919, a sanatorium cut off by the chaos of the Russian civil war. The murder of the chief doctor sets in motion a nightmarish series of events involving mysterious experiments, the secret police, the Tsar’s double, an enigmatic ‘visitor’, giant corpses, possessed cats, sorcery, and the overwhelming madness of war, in this fantastical and wildly exuberant historical novel. BUY HERE                                                                 Commendations A bold and confident n ovel...

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Read our interview with author Dave Lewis here ... This is Dave's twenty-first book and fourth novel.  A gritty ‘Cymru noir’ thriller set in various locations around south Wales and the UK.  The book is available as a paperback as well as an e-book and can be found on Amazon and in all good book shops… Synopsis An authentic British road trip and old-fashioned love story. A violent but compelling tale of grim landscapes and dark morality. Paul Thorne is no angel.  A hard man with a troubled past, his mistake was to fall for the wrong girl....

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