Hilda Vaughan Libri

Set against a backdrop of class conflict in rural Wales, this 1925 novel explores the love story between Rhys Lloyd and Esther. Rhys, influenced by Social Darwinism and the League of Nations, faces hostility due to his progressive ideas and his Nonconformist heritage. Esther, a church-goer, initially struggles with societal disapproval but gradually rises above her harsh upbringing. Through her determination, she not only transforms her own life but also uplifts the community, embodying resilience and a quest for spiritual growth.

A gripping Gothic tale of possession, madness and murder, Hilda Vaughan's Harvest Home (1936), is set in Abercoran on the south-west coast of Wales in the time of George III. Daniel Hafod rides home from England one fine morning to become Master of Great House after the death of his uncle. But his obsessive pride and his dark desire for the pretty dairy-maid Eiluned lead to his downfall, as he and his sailor cousin, Dan, compete for her love. A lyrical evocation of Welsh rural life, Harvest Home is also a tautly-written psychological study of a man driven mad by desire which draws on the history of wreckers then active on the Welsh sea-coast, the legend of Blodeuwedd from the Mabinogi, and superstitions associated with Nos Calangaeaf (All Hallows Eve) when spirit voices call out the names of those soon to die.