A reprint of a collection of 13 satirical short stories which caused some commotion when first published because of its pointed portrayals of hypocrisy and greed among London-Welsh people, including two stories not included in the original publication. First published in 1920.

Argraffiad o gasgliad o 13 stori fer ddychanol a barodd gryn gynnwrf pan gyhoeddwyd ef gyntaf oherwydd ei bortreadau pigog o ragrith a thrachwant Cymry Llundain, ynghyd â dwy stori nas cynhwyswyd yn y cyhoeddiad gwereiddiol. Cyhoeddwyd gyntaf yn 1920.

Caradoc Evans occupies a unique position in the field of Welsh writing in English. He was, without doubt, the most controversial Welsh-born fiction writer of the last century, a position which earned him the accusation in Wales of writing literary filth.

This volume of fifteen short stories was first published in 1920, five years after My People. All the stories in My People were set in Wales, a land portrayed as inhabited by grotesque, greedy and frequently ruthless people. Evans detested the hypocrisy and spite of the rural nonconformist chapels of Cardiganshire and, ironically, his stories are characterised by a Biblical use of language which is very much his own.

He spent his working life in London journalistic circles and My Neighbours contains stories which are set in the London-Welsh community. Drapers and dairymen figure heavily. But, in addition, there are also stories from Wales. Two of the stories, ‘Wisdom’ and ‘The Lantern Bearer’, have only seen the light of day in magazines, and this is the first time they have appeared together in a book. There is an extremely helpful afterword by John Harris in which he writes in detail of Evans’s career in London and the background to the stories.

Planet are to be congratulated on their enterprise in making the book available to a new generation of readers.

Dewi Roberts

It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgement should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.

Gellir defnyddio’r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatad Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru.