The rugged, windswept crime novels of Wales ‹ CrimeReads

Wales is a country with a distinctive and fascinating character. A land of mist and mountains, myth, magic – and mystery. The close geographical and historical links between Wales and England, coupled with the bilingual nature of Welsh literature, contribute to the unique character of Welsh literature. Today, Welsh literary culture is thriving, and the wonderful book town of Hay-on-Wye hosts a celebrated festival every year. Its history is equally impressive, stretching back to the sixth century and spanning the Mabinogion– wonderful medieval folk tales – as well as the works of poets such as Dylan Thomas and RS Thomas and such renowned writers as Roald Dahl, who was born in Cardiff and enjoyed success in two very different fields: children's novels and macabre “tales of the unexpected”.

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Macabre fiction has been a particular strength of Welsh writers over the years, perhaps partly inspired by the tantalising but sometimes eerie quality of the landscape. Arthur Machen was a master of this style of writing, while another of the authors featured in this collection, Cledwyn Hughes, wrote many interesting, eerie stories that deserve to be rediscovered. Emlyn Williams, the playwright and actor best known for the psychological thriller Night must falloften worked at the boundaries of the crime novel. Until relatively recently, however, there were few Welsh writers of conventional crime novels – as surprisingly as there were crime novels set in Wales, whether written by Welsh authors or not.

The “Golden Age of Murder” between the two world wars, for example, can hardly be described as the Golden Age of crime novels set in Wales. The Great Orme Terror by Garnett Radcliffe (an Irishman) has a promising title, referring to a rocky promontory near Llandudno on the north coast of Wales. The story, however, is lurid and sensational. On arriving in the area, Dr. Constandos brings news to the pretty young tennis player Mona and her suitor, the monocle-wearing Lord Basil Curlew, of a golden treasure in a Spanish galleon that sank just off the Great Orme. Mona believes, for no apparently compelling reason, that she has a moral right to the gold, and she and Lord Basil resolve to find it. Unfortunately, various villains are also after the loot – and this includes characters such as a nasty green-thumbed fellow known as The Lizard and the mysterious and bestial Gravenant. Superintendent Fibkin is helpless in the face of these diabolical enemies, who have an army of strange death robots at their disposal and will stop at nothing – especially torture and murder – to enforce their evil will.

More impressive, although still hair-raising, are the “impossible crime novels” of the American Virgil Markham. Death at dusk (1929), Victor Bannerlee is an antiquarian travelling through Radnorshire. After a number of bizarre encounters, he becomes lost in the fog and stumbles upon an old mansion which happens to belong to an acquaintance. The household party, gathered there for a wedding, is a motley crew, and the sense of impending doom is heightened by the appearance of a bizarre apparition who delights in the name of Parson Lolly. A continuous succession of strange events helps to disguise a pleasant plot twist.

Another Markham mystery, Shock! (also known as The black door1930) boasts a remarkable subtitle: “The Mystery of the Fate of the Heirs of Sir Anthony Veryan at Kestrel's Eyrie Castle, near the Coast of Wales.” A sub-subtitle adds: “Now Reproduced from Information Supplied by the Principal Living Persons and Witnesses.” The first edition includes an elaborate pull-out, folded family tree of Horace Veryan's descendants. Some appendices to the family tree, although printed, appear to be handwritten and give an update on the death toll in the family. Also included is a map of the area, including St. David's and Ramsey Island, and plans of the ground and first floors of Kestrel's Eyrie. The narrator is Tom Stapleton, an American who comes to Wales to see Sir Anthony Veryan, recently incapacitated after an assassination attempt, and then finds himself embroiled in a complicated mystery.

Richard Hull, one of the most innovative exponents of the “reverse mystery” during the Golden Age, had strong Welsh connections and The murder of my aunt (what, how Excellent Intentionswas published as a British Library Crime Classic) is set in a house modelled on his childhood home, and the events take place near a fictional version of Welshpool. Welsh archaeologist Glyn Daniel adopted the pseudonym Dilwyn Rees when he published his first crime novel. The Cambridge Murders in 1945. The novel was later published under his own name, as was his second novel, Welcome, Death (1954).

Daniel stopped writing crime novels and concentrated on his academic career at Cambridge, where the future crime writer and critic Jessica Mann was one of his students.

Dylan Thomas liked (and reviewed) crime novels, although his novel The Death of the King's Canarywhich he wrote with John Davenport during World War II, is a parody of the genre full of inside jokes, but seemed rather dull when it was published posthumously in 1976.

Many English-born writers have an affinity with Wales. This is particularly true of those who hail from the Welsh Marches (a vaguely defined area arguably including counties such as Cheshire and Gloucestershire, as well as Shropshire and Herefordshire). A notable example was Edith Pargeter, who wrote many books under her own name before becoming famous under the pseudonym Ellis Peters.

Dorothy Bowers was born in Leominster but grew up across the border in Monmouthshire. Her five novels showed skill and promise of future success before tuberculosis tragically cut her life short. LP Davies, who was born in Crewe and also wrote under the name Leslie Vardre, wrote a number of interesting macabre stories set in Wales, while Birmingham-born climber Frank Showell Styles enjoyed success with a series of crime novels written under the name Glyn Carr and starring Sir Abercrombie Lewker. His titles include Death under Snowdon (1954).

Perhaps the most successful crime novel set in early post-war Wales was Cat and Mouse (1950) by Christianna Brand, a contributor to this volume; several of her books have been reissued with great success as British Library Crime Classics.

Nine years later, Strike for a KingdomMenna Gallie's first novel, is set in Cilhendre, a fictional version of Ystradgynlais, a mining village in the Swansea Valley where she grew up. The story is set in 1926, at the time of the general strike, and combines a crime thriller with a picture of the tensions within a small mining community. The book came in second place (after Eric Ambler's Weapons handover) for the CWA Gold Dagger, but Gallie was more interested in politics than plot or puzzles and she did not return to the genre.

Published in 1970, Die like a man is an entertaining bibliocrimy by Michael Delving (the pseudonym of American writer Jay Williams) that benefits from a very well-realized setting in South Wales. Bookseller Dave Cannon is stranded there and soon finds himself embroiled in an exciting, if improbable, series of escapades involving an ancient bowl said to be the Holy Grail.

Until the second half of the 20th century, crime novels based on Welsh themes remained relatively rare, although some of the crime novels published by the prolific Rhondda Valley-born Roy Lewis were set in the country. In modern times, however, Welsh crime fiction has boomed, and bilingual television series such as Hinterland and Hidden (also known as Y Gwyll And Craith, or) are also very popular.

Against this background, this anthology, like its sister volume, The Edinburgh Mystery and other Scottish crime stories offers a wide range of crime fiction from an eclectic group of authors. Some of the stories are written by Welsh-born authors, some are set in Wales, and some meet both criteria.

I have had much help in compiling this book from Jamie Sturgeon and others, particularly Nigel Moss and John Cooper. Cledwyn Hughes' two daughters, Rebecca Hughes and Janet Laugharne, have provided me with valuable material, as well as a selection of their father's stories. Siân Griffiths has also kindly spoken to me about the life and career of her father, Jack Edwards Griffiths. I am also grateful to members of the British Library publishing team for their work in making this book possible. Finally, I would like to thank all those who read these anthologies and often get in touch with interesting comments and suggestions; your support and continued enthusiasm for this series is greatly appreciated.

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From Martin Edwards' introduction to CRIMES OF CYMRU: CLASSIC MYSTERY TALES OF WALES. Copyright ©2024 Martin Edwards. Reprinted with permission of British Library Crime Classics. All rights reserved.