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Break It Down: Prequel - The Luddite rebellion
Prequel to the Wales Rising series. Evan and his parents endure the dangers of work in a slate quarry in Wales, while Elen’s family ekes out a meagre living spinning and cloth finishing in rural Yorkshire. When their lives and livelihoods are threatened, desperation forces them to seek work in northern England’s new industrial heartland. Will their hopes of a better life turn into a nightmare?
Machines take the place of skilled men, and in the woollen mills of Wakefield, Evan and Elen are cruelly exploited as cheap child labour. War with France, recession, mass unemployment, and poor harvests bring the north of England to the brink of starvation.
As Evan and Elen’s love deepens, the textile workers’ only option is to rebel against the harsh mill owners and an uncaring government or starve. Rebellion led by ‘General Ludd’ grows stronger and more violent as they break the machines and attack the mills that are taking their jobs. Will their actions lead to salvation or a tragic end?
Machines take the place of skilled men, and in the woollen mills of Wakefield, Evan and Elen are cruelly exploited as cheap child labour. War with France, recession, mass unemployment, and poor harvests bring the north of England to the brink of starvation.
As Evan and Elen’s love deepens, the textile workers’ only option is to rebel against the harsh mill owners and an uncaring government or starve. Rebellion led by ‘General Ludd’ grows stronger and more violent as they break the machines and attack the mills that are taking their jobs. Will their actions lead to salvation or a tragic end?
297 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 17, 2024
10 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Bryn
32 books83 followersRebecca lives in West Wales with her husband and dog, where she paints the fabulous coastal scenery and writes historical, mystery, and post-apocalyptic tales with a twist. Her historical novel Touching the Wire won a Gold Medal in the Readers' Favorite 2019 Book Awards and the IAN Book of the Year prize in the same year. The Chainmakers Daughter was a finalist in 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 31, 2024
Quite well done
This is a grand beginning to a series I have truly enjoyed. It is as relevant to slide today as possible I would encourage others to read the series and keep in mind these are characters but the situations are true to life at the times,
This is a grand beginning to a series I have truly enjoyed. It is as relevant to slide today as possible I would encourage others to read the series and keep in mind these are characters but the situations are true to life at the times,
May 31, 2024
I imagine that writing a prequel is one of the most difficult things an author can attempt. For a sequel you simply ask the question “what could happen to these characters next?”. Their responses to whatever events take place in their subsequent lives is shaped by what happened to them in the first novel.
For a prequel you have to ask the much more difficult questions “how did they arrive at the situation I put them in” and “what events in their past made them behave they way they did?”
For a writer of historical fiction that draws heavily on real events there is the additional question “what real event might they have witnessed?”
Rebecca Bryn began her series with the Merthyr riots – the conflict between workers and the owners of iron works in the valleys of South Wales. For her sequel she tackled the later rebellion staged by farmers whose ability to get their produce to market was impeded by the erection of toll barriers on all of the routes leading to the market towns. Through both she has the Methodist minister Evan Rees and his family supporting the communities in their fight for justice against unfair treatment by those in power.
Now, in the prequel, we discover the nine year old Evan working with his father in a slate quarry in North Wales. It is an arduous and dangerous environment which Bryn brings brilliantly to life. Simultaneously his future wife, Elen, is with her parents and siblings living and working in Wakefield where the textile trade in being turned upside down by the introduction of machines. The story of how these two families come together and love blossoms between Evan and Elen against the backdrop of the battles between Luddites and the factory owners forms the substance of Bryn's latest blockbuster.
Everything that readers have come to expect from this author is here: conflict between child and parent, the brutal treatment of children, especially girls, by men with power, acts of great courage alongside trust betrayed. Evan's development as a charismatic preacher from a young age is especially well realised and Elen's encounters with the dangers posed by a certain kind of adult male will move you to tears or anger – in my case both.
This is, truly, another Rebecca Bryn masterpiece: a very human story with plenty of insights into the less savoury aspects of British history. How often we casually use words like “Luddite” in describing those who are resistant to change, especially technological change. This book is a reminder of the suffering behind the rebellion of the original Luddites and a timely warning for those who lack sympathy for people who fear the changes being wrought by AI.
For a prequel you have to ask the much more difficult questions “how did they arrive at the situation I put them in” and “what events in their past made them behave they way they did?”
For a writer of historical fiction that draws heavily on real events there is the additional question “what real event might they have witnessed?”
Rebecca Bryn began her series with the Merthyr riots – the conflict between workers and the owners of iron works in the valleys of South Wales. For her sequel she tackled the later rebellion staged by farmers whose ability to get their produce to market was impeded by the erection of toll barriers on all of the routes leading to the market towns. Through both she has the Methodist minister Evan Rees and his family supporting the communities in their fight for justice against unfair treatment by those in power.
Now, in the prequel, we discover the nine year old Evan working with his father in a slate quarry in North Wales. It is an arduous and dangerous environment which Bryn brings brilliantly to life. Simultaneously his future wife, Elen, is with her parents and siblings living and working in Wakefield where the textile trade in being turned upside down by the introduction of machines. The story of how these two families come together and love blossoms between Evan and Elen against the backdrop of the battles between Luddites and the factory owners forms the substance of Bryn's latest blockbuster.
Everything that readers have come to expect from this author is here: conflict between child and parent, the brutal treatment of children, especially girls, by men with power, acts of great courage alongside trust betrayed. Evan's development as a charismatic preacher from a young age is especially well realised and Elen's encounters with the dangers posed by a certain kind of adult male will move you to tears or anger – in my case both.
This is, truly, another Rebecca Bryn masterpiece: a very human story with plenty of insights into the less savoury aspects of British history. How often we casually use words like “Luddite” in describing those who are resistant to change, especially technological change. This book is a reminder of the suffering behind the rebellion of the original Luddites and a timely warning for those who lack sympathy for people who fear the changes being wrought by AI.
May 28, 2024
I pre-ordered the prequel to Rebecca Bryn’s Wales Rising series the moment it appeared on Amazon, curious to know how Evan, son of a Welsh miner, became a Methodist minister. Where he met Elen, the love of his life, and how she became a midwife. This is their story, but so much more.
Two families risk their lives to live – to put food on the table. Opposing them is a king who believes in his divine right to rule, and the rich who value wealth over humanity. The sheer breadth of Break It Down digs deep into the human psyche. Fast-paced, gripping, incredible!
Two families risk their lives to live – to put food on the table. Opposing them is a king who believes in his divine right to rule, and the rich who value wealth over humanity. The sheer breadth of Break It Down digs deep into the human psyche. Fast-paced, gripping, incredible!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews