Cysgodau y Blynyddoedd Gynt (Gwyneth Vaughan)

“I'r hen Gymry gynt, un o arwyddion y nefoedd ydoedd, yn dangos y dyfodol iddynt. Os byddai'r goleuni yn wyn, disgwylient hwy ddiwygiad crefyddol grymus, ond os goleuni coch fyddai, yna heb os nac oni bai: rhyfel oedd yn arwyddocau."

The cunning lord trying to ensnare the young gentleman; the young girl longing for her love; the innocent heiress who is a pawn in her father's schemes; the strange ghosts plaguing the neighbourhood; the wily chapel elder; the superstitious housewife; and of course, the Gypsies who link all these together—and to whom there is much more than there seems...

Originally written in 1907, Cysgodau y Blynyddoedd Gynt was Gwyneth Vaughan's third novel, and it appears here in book form for the first time since it's  original serialisation, and with an introduction by Vaughan's biographer Rosanne Reeves. This novel is a story of mystery and hypocrisy, tolerance and forgiveness; but it is also the author's love-letter to a range of Welsh folk traditions and superstitions from the Aderyn Corff to the bards' meeting.

"The ordinary people's dialogue is pure pleasure. They are all so natural and so Welsh..." —Mari Ellis

"[Gwyneth Vaughan's novels] bear comparison with many stories that have proven most successful in England, and they are superior beyond compare to any of the tales about Wales which have been written in English by the English, or those Welsh who cannot speak the language."
—T. Gwynn Jones

Paperback, 340pp.