What do you think?
Rate this book
The Times and Trials of Hettie Morgan: A Very Cunning Woman Indeed
The Times and Trials of Hettie Morgan
A Very Cunning Woman Indeed
Once a common term across the British Isles, a cunning woman - or swynwraig in Welsh, was a healer, herbalist, and keeper of folk wisdom. Feared by some, sought out by many, she stood at the edge of village life, carrying traditional knowledge through woodlands and whispers, between intuition and inheritance, survival and story.
From the misty hills of Gwernogle, West Wales to the candlelit ballrooms of Gloucester, Hettie Morgan walked a path shaped by grace, craft, quiet defiance, and, in her own quiet way, radical love.
Inspired by the diaries, oral traditions, and family history of **Hettie Elizabeth Howells ** - cousin to the renowned Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, this partially fictionalised account brings to life a woman whose story has never before been told. Hettie was also mentioned, alongside a photograph of her with her husband and daughter Valerie, in Dylan Remembered, Volume 1935–1953 by David N Thomas, (Seren Books).
A daughter of several generations of wise women, Hettie brewed tinctures, crafted herbal remedies, and lived the old ways without fanfare. Taught by her mother in hedgerows and kitchens, she became a healer and a fierce protector of her kin, all while the world around her changed in ways both brutal and beautiful.
In a time and place where same-sex love was hidden behind closed curtains, Hettie forged bonds that defied convention. Her story is one of chosen family, deep intimacy, and enduring tenderness in the face of silence.
The Times and Trials of Hettie Morgan is a lyrical, historical novel rooted in memory, celebrating resilience, identity, loss, and the quiet strength of women who followed their own truth.
A tale for anyone who believes that courage can be quiet, love can take many forms, and legacy lives not in monuments, but in memory. A must-read for those drawn to the quiet beauty of Rosamunde Pilcher, Delia Owens, and stories rooted in the sacred rhythms of the land.
A Very Cunning Woman Indeed
Once a common term across the British Isles, a cunning woman - or swynwraig in Welsh, was a healer, herbalist, and keeper of folk wisdom. Feared by some, sought out by many, she stood at the edge of village life, carrying traditional knowledge through woodlands and whispers, between intuition and inheritance, survival and story.
From the misty hills of Gwernogle, West Wales to the candlelit ballrooms of Gloucester, Hettie Morgan walked a path shaped by grace, craft, quiet defiance, and, in her own quiet way, radical love.
Inspired by the diaries, oral traditions, and family history of **Hettie Elizabeth Howells ** - cousin to the renowned Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, this partially fictionalised account brings to life a woman whose story has never before been told. Hettie was also mentioned, alongside a photograph of her with her husband and daughter Valerie, in Dylan Remembered, Volume 1935–1953 by David N Thomas, (Seren Books).
A daughter of several generations of wise women, Hettie brewed tinctures, crafted herbal remedies, and lived the old ways without fanfare. Taught by her mother in hedgerows and kitchens, she became a healer and a fierce protector of her kin, all while the world around her changed in ways both brutal and beautiful.
In a time and place where same-sex love was hidden behind closed curtains, Hettie forged bonds that defied convention. Her story is one of chosen family, deep intimacy, and enduring tenderness in the face of silence.
The Times and Trials of Hettie Morgan is a lyrical, historical novel rooted in memory, celebrating resilience, identity, loss, and the quiet strength of women who followed their own truth.
A tale for anyone who believes that courage can be quiet, love can take many forms, and legacy lives not in monuments, but in memory. A must-read for those drawn to the quiet beauty of Rosamunde Pilcher, Delia Owens, and stories rooted in the sacred rhythms of the land.
227 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 31, 2025
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 5, 2025
Lyrical, tragic yet uplifting tale of life in Wales through the 1930s through to the 1960s. Based on a real life family. Hettie is a woman before her time. Deeply spiritual and connected to the rhythms of nature. A woman who could have had the world but chose family and legacy instead.
For a first novel, it might not be as polished as more experienced writers, but the tale is told from the heart. The blending of real life and some more fantastical aspects, we are left cheering the heroine on.
Thoroughly enjoyable read.
For a first novel, it might not be as polished as more experienced writers, but the tale is told from the heart. The blending of real life and some more fantastical aspects, we are left cheering the heroine on.
Thoroughly enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review