Lettice Peters travelled the world on her husband's ships, but has now settled with her children in the little cathedral town of 'St Idris' in Pembrokeshire. Written during the Second World War, The Captain's Wife looks back nostalgically on a period when the rhythms of traditional Welsh culture were still intact. This novel was first published in 1943.

Teithiodd Lettice Peters y byd ar longau ei phriod, ond bellach y mae wedi setlo gyda'i phlant yn ninas 'Sant Idris' yn sir Benfro. Dyma nofel sy'n bwrw golwg hiraethus ar gyfnod pan oedd y diwylliant Cymreig yn rhan naturiol o fywyd. Fe'i hysgrifennwyd adeg yr Ail Ryfel Byd, a chyhoeddwyd y nofel gyntaf yn 1943.

First published in 1943, Eiluned Lewis’s poignantly evocative second novel is reissued here as part of the excellent Honno Classics series, with a superb introduction by editor Katie Gramich. Set almost entirely in and around St Davids (which Lewis renames St Idris) in the early 1880s, The Captain’s Wife is an exquisite portrayal of a family, a community and a way of life, as seen through the eyes of the eponymous captain’s wife, Lettice Peters, and her young daughter, Matty.

Since her husband, John, is often away at sea for months at a time, Lettice has full responsibility for running the home and bringing up their four young children. Although she is happiest when John is at home, Lettice is gifted with a serene self-sufficiency and enjoys the respectful support, not just of her sisters and immediate family, but also of an extensive network of relatives and of the local community, all of whom are portrayed with great warmth. The male characters are likeable and sympathetic, but it is the women who are central here. In a rapidly changing world in which the traditions of rural life are being challenged by the coming of steam and the industrial age, women provide a sense of stability and continuity in their ability to adapt to change without sacrificing the values they hold dear.

The Captain’s Wife is a quiet masterpiece that seems somehow to defy description. It is very much grounded in the particular – in its story, its characters, its period and setting – and yet it also captures the universal and addresses perennial themes and issues. This is a beautiful, subtle book that both enchants with its immediacy and leaves plenty to ponder.

Suzy Ceulan Hughes

It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment 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 ganiatâd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru.