Home > The Magazine > Books

Monday 1 December 2008

Dare to dream and make your ultimate trip a reality

The latest culture as recommended by our staff

Michael Henderson

Michael Henderson suggests

Email registration

Free weekly email update

Great products and special offers for Spectator readers

Click here for great value events

Click here for exclusive articles, offers, tasting notes and discussion

The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales (English Version)

All you need to know about Wales

edited by John Davies, Nigel Jenkins, Menna Baines and Peredur Lynch
University of Wales Press, 1060pp, £,

Byron Rogers

Wednesday, 2nd July 2008

Byron Rogers reviews an encyclopedia of Wales

There is a moment in the introduction to this book, when, after the grand statement of its aim ‘to encapsulate a country’s material, natural and cultural essence’, you come on this, amongst the usual thanks being extended to archivists and professors: ‘To Roy Morgan of Mertec Evesham Ltd., Swansea, who kindly loaned the project a laptop computer.’ Just that, but from then on you suspect that this is going to be an encapsulation of a country’s material, natural and cultural essence unlike any other you have ever read.

For there in a single sentence you have the Welsh, a people little given to airs (their most popular jibe being ‘Who does he think he is?’, one directed at R. S. Thomas in his youth), or reverence (for Norman kings, at the heads of their armies, one of the most disturbing features of invading Wales was that passers-by engaged them in conversation), also a people, who, because of the scarce resources at their disposal, are used to making do. God bless Mr Morgan, and see he gets his laptop back.

But the Encyclopaedia’s most remarkable feature is that it, a reference work, is so readable. The Dictionary of Welsh Biography is a solemn march past of the great and good (and stuffed with 19th-century chapel ministers). This is a rout of everyone who has ever intrigued its four editors, John Davies, Nigel Jenkins, Menna Baines and Peredur Lynch.

‘EVANS, Margaret. Amazonian.’ Some- body has had a lot of fun classifying the entries. This 18th-century Margaret, whom Pennant met on his travels, was a wrestler, blacksmith, oarswoman, hunter and carpenter. ‘There is a tradition that her husband agreed to marry her after she beat him, and that after a second beating he gave up drinking and became prominent with the local Methodists.’

Print this article | Email to a friend | Permalink | Comments (1) | Apollo Art Books

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Next page

Post this entry to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit

ian skidmore

July 3rd, 2008 8:50am

Pnce again the canard that Edward 8 said " We must do somethinbg for the Welsh" The phrase was invented by reporter Charlie Hands who was covering the visit and could not hear what the Prince actually said

The power of the evasive word

Michael Howard

The Economist Book of Obituaries, by Keith Colquhoun and Ann Wroe

Deadlier than the male

Andrew Taylor

When does a novel stop being a novel and become a crime story? It’s often assumed that there is an unbridgeable gap between them, but that’s not necessarily so.