A Small Country – Sian James

A Small Country – Sian James

A friend recommended this one, one of those forgotten novels of the 20th century (it was first published in 1979), but the action takes place in 1914.

Here’s the blurb …

A Small Country is the story of the Evans family, farmers in Carmarthenshire. In the summer of 1914 son Tom returns from Oxford to find the family falling apart. His handsome father has gone to live with schoolmistress Miriam Lewis, who is to have his child. His mother, broken-hearted, lies ill in bed, while his beautiful sister Catrin longs to leave for London and art college. Soon Tom’s university friend Edward will arrive to holiday with them, half-aware of his attraction to Catrin, but already engaged to Rose, a supporter of the Suffragettes. And Tom himself is in debt and disillusioned with his proposed legal career. He would like to manage Hendre Ddu, the family farm, but finds his family troubles and the approach of war set him on a very different course.

When I sat down to write my thoughts, I was astonished to find it published in 1979. It seems so of its time (world war one, women’s choices are limited – marriage, nursing or teaching). However, I did think Miriam Lewis was quite modern – she didn’t care about being married. The world-building was very good, it felt very much like rural Wales in the first world war. It is not a particularly happy novel, lives are hard – especially for women, and the characters all seem to struggle on in isolation. However, it is beautifully written and highlights a different time and place (lost to us now).

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