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Cledwyn Hughes (author)

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John Cledwyn Hughes, who wrote under the name Cledwyn Hughes (1920-1978), was an Anglo-Welsh writer of novels, children's books, and literary-topographical books about Wales. He was also a prolific short-story writer who was published in a wide range of popular and literary magazines including The New Yorker, Argosy, Woman and Home.

The Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales[1] cites 'The Civil Strangers'[2] (Phoenix House, 1950) as his most distinguished work and notes the fineness of his topographical writing, and of his writing for children.

Life and Career

Hughes was the only child of John and Janet Hughes of Llansantffraid, Montgomeryshire. An avid reader of fiction as a child, he nevertheless followed his parents' wishes to study pharmacy, taking a degree in chemistry in 1945 from the University of Liverpool. Early successes as a short-story writer led to a career in writing. He met and married trained fashion designer and artist, Alyna Tudor-Davies, in 1947, and they had two daughters, Janet and Rebecca. The majority of his life was spent in North Wales, and the evocative writing about Snowdonia and the Welsh Marches is a feature of his work.

Hughes died of a tumour on the brain in 1978. An archive of his papers is held at the National Library of Wales. A list of the archive's contents can be found here[3]

Major works

Novels

  • The Different Drummer and The Inn Closes for Christmas: two novels[4] (Pilot Press, 1947)
  • Wennon[5] (Pilot Press, 1948)
  • The Civil Strangers[2] (Phoenix House, 1950)
  • After the Holiday[6] (Phoenix House, 1950)
  • The House in the Cornfield[7] (Werner Laurie, 1957)

Topographical writing

·       A Wanderer in North Wales[8] (Phoenix House, 1949)

·       The Northern Marches[9] (Robert Hale, 1953)

·       Poaching down the Dee[10] (Robert Hale, 1953)

·       Royal Wales (Phoenix House, 1957)

·       West with the Tinkers[11] (Odham Press, 1951)

·       Portrait of Snowdonia[12] (Robert Hale, 1967)

·       The Batsford Colour Book of Wales (Batsford, 1975)

Children's books

·       Gold and “The Moonspray” (Heinemann, 1953)

·       The King Who Lived on Jelly (Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1961)

Other books

·       Leonard Cheshire V. C. (Phoenix House, 1961)

·       Ponies for Children (Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1962)

·       Making an Orchard (Land Books, 1961)

International and translated editions

·       He Dared not Look Behind[13] (A A Wyn, 1949) - Title under which 'The Inn Closes for Christmas was published' in USA and Canada

·       La Jambe de Cain[14] (Gallimard, 1963) - French edition of the above.

Critical Response and Legacy

Hughes's writing had an international reach and received attention in a wide range of literary and popular publications. His writing is described in contemporary reviews as poetic, showing whimsy and melancholia, or at times a darker sentiment[15] [16]. The Spectator[17] (7 February, 1947) welcomed the first longer works by Hughes ('The Inn Closes for Christmas' and 'The Different Drummer') describing them as 'Two vivid short novels by a brilliant young Welshman whose short stories have already established his reputation[18]. Interest in Hughes continued into the 2020s[19][20]

References

  1. ^ Stephens, Meic; Academi Gymreig (1986). The Oxford companion to the literature of Wales. Internet Archive. Oxford [Oxfordshire] ; New York : Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-211586-7.
  2. ^ a b Hughes, Cledwyn (1949). The Civil Strangers. Phoenix House.
  3. ^ "cledwyn-hughes-novelist-manuscripts" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ "Formats and Editions of The Different Drummer and The Inn Closes for Christmas. [Two novels.]. [WorldCat.org]". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  5. ^ Hughes, Cledwyn (1948). Wennon. [A novel. London. OCLC 314608409.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ Hughes, Cledwyn (1950). After the Holiday. Phoenix House.
  7. ^ Hughes, Cledwyn (1957). The house in the cornfield. OCLC 837053104.
  8. ^ Mwyn, Rhys (2014-04-23). "Thoughts of Chairman Mwyn: Inspirational Welsh Books". Thoughts of Chairman Mwyn. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  9. ^ Hughes, Cledwyn (1953). The Northern Marches. Hale. ISBN 978-7-80066-945-3.
  10. ^ Hughes, Cledwyn (2010-07). Poaching Down the Dee. LULU Press. ISBN 978-1-4455-1500-7. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Hughes, Cledwyn (1954). West with the Tinkers: A Journey Through Wales with Vagrants. Odhams Press. ISBN 978-7-250-00461-3.
  12. ^ Hughes, Cledwyn (1967). Portrait of Snowdonia. Hale. ISBN 978-7-110-00734-1.
  13. ^ "Formats and Editions of He dared not look behind. [WorldCat.org]". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  14. ^ "Formats and Editions of He dared not look behind. [WorldCat.org]". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  15. ^ World Review. E. Hulton. 1970.
  16. ^ The Welsh Review. Penmark Press. 1947.
  17. ^ "The Spectator", Wikipedia, 2021-02-05, retrieved 2021-02-08
  18. ^ The Spectator. F.C. Westley. 1947.
  19. ^ Tramp, The Passing (2020-12-20). "The Passing Tramp: Christmas Drear: The Inn Closes at Christmas/He Dared Not Look Behind (1947), by Cledwyn Hughes". The Passing Tramp. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  20. ^ Mwyn, Rhys (2014-04-23). "Thoughts of Chairman Mwyn: Inspirational Welsh Books". Thoughts of Chairman Mwyn. Retrieved 2021-02-08.



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