Richard Llewellyn – N S Ford

Film of the book: ‘How Green Was My Valley’ (1941)

nsford — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 07:00:42 +0000

Richard Llewellyn’s bestselling 1939 novel was quickly adapted for film, directed by John Ford. It actually beat Citizen Kane in the Academy Awards. From an artistic viewpoint it’s beautifully filmed, very musical with male voice choirs and constant background music, and good acting even though I’m not entirely sure about some of the accents. The story is about Huw Morgan and his family as they weather various highs and lows in a Welsh mining village. There is not quite the sense of impending doom that we get in the book, but there is still the awful tragic conclusion.

As an adaptation, it neatly communicates the nostalgic, community-spirited essence of the book and the characters are spot-on. However, it’s a more sentimental vision than the book, with a particular focus on the unfulfilled and somewhat uninteresting romance between Huw’s sister Angharad and the preacher Mr Gruffydd. The less wholesome aspects of Huw are edited out, such as his encounters with his first girlfriend Ceinwen, demanding to know the facts of life from Mr Gruffydd, and how he was expelled from school. But then the time period is very compressed and Huw never reaches adolescence in this adaptation. Antagonism between Welsh and English people, one of the book’s preoccupations, is not present in the film, certainly a diplomatic choice during the Second World War. I think the biggest loss is the narrative voice of the older, contemporary Huw, who has very few lines. Quite often, the film will show what’s going on between the adults and Huw isn’t even there, while in the book he’s always present, even if the adults don’t realise it.

It is perfectly possible to appreciate the film without having read the book, but if you want more background on the characters then reading it will be rewarding.

Review of ‘How Green Was My Valley’ by Richard Llewellyn

nsford — Sat, 03 Dec 2022 08:00:13 +0000

This classic novel was first published in 1939. I hadn’t read it before, although I’d heard of it. I wasn’t quite sure whether it was an autobiography or fiction. It turns out that Llewellyn was actually born in England, to Welsh parents, and that the novel isn’t generally based upon his own experiences. I think that makes it all the more extraordinary because it has an autobiographical tone and a strong sense of community.

The book is narrated by Huw Morgan, who lives with his family in a South Wales coal mining village. Although it was a tough life, even for the moderately well-off Morgans, Huw looks back on those times with nostalgia for the people and places he loved in the Victorian era. However, there is a sense of dread accumulating as the narrative continues, because Huw hints that some awful things are going to happen. There is also the increasing slag heap (waste material from coal mining) on the mountain, which pollutes the environment and threatens to fall on the village. It becomes a metaphor for the tragedies looming in Huw’s life.

You could consider this book a coming of age story, as it begins with Huw a little boy about to start school and ends with him a man. It’s a lot more than that, though. Themes of identity, unions, the small-mindedness of a village, forbidden love, music, nature, honour, faith and courage. The narrative style is lyrical and contains enough Welsh idiom to give you a sense of his speaking voice. Interestingly, the characters are supposed to be speaking Welsh while we are of course reading it in English. Children are not allowed to speak Welsh at school and one of the pivotal points of the plot is a result of that.

An emotional and impressive read. A film adaptation was released in 1941.

This edition published by Penguin, 2001.