Enoc Huws

by Daniel Owen

“Mab llwyn a pherth oedd Enoc Huws, ond nid yn Sir Fôn y ganwyd ef.”Y frawddeg agoriadol, y nofel a’r awdur amlycaf ym myd y nofel Gymraeg.Mae ’na farwolaeth ar gychwyn y nofel a phriodas ar ei diwedd ond rhwng rheiny cawn gyfarfod â housekeeper, plismon, gweinidog a chrydd yn ogystal ag ambell ddihiryn ac humbug.Roedd Daniel Owen, 1836-1895, yn deiliwr yn Yr Wyddgrug ac yn disgrifio’i gymdeithas ar ddiwedd y 19eg Ganrif.The most famous opening sentence, novel and author in the Welsh language. A literal translation would be - “Enoc Huws was a son of the grove and hedge, but he wasn’t born in Anglesey.” A son of the grove and hedge is an experssion for an illegitimate child.There’s a death at the beginning of the novel and a marriage at its end but between those two events we meet a housekeeper, a policeman, a minister and a shoemaker as well as a few rogues and humbugs.Daniel Owen, 1836-1895, was a tailor in Mold (Yr Wyddgrug) and described his society at the end of the 19th Century.

382 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1891

About the author

Owen was born in Mold, Flintshire, into a working class family, his father, Robert Owen, being a coalminer. His father and two brothers, James and Robert, were killed on 10 May 1837 in a mining accident when the Argoed mine became flooded. The loss impacted heavily on the family who remained in poverty. Owen received no formal education, but he acknowledged his debt to his Sunday school.

At the age of 12, Owen was apprenticed to a tailor, Angel Jones, who was an elder with the Calvinistic Methodist. Owen described his apprenticeship as a 'kind of college', and began writing poetry after being influenced by one of his work colleagues. Owen used the tailor shop as an opportunity to discuss and argue topics with workers and customers, a theme that is evident in his novels. This style of education is recounted in his novel Rhys Lewis, given to the character 'Robyn y Sowldiwr'.

Owen began writing poetry under the nom-de-plume Glaslwyn, entering his work into local eisteddfodau and succeeding in publishing some of his work. His first significant work in Welsh was a translation of Timothy Shay Arthur's novelette Ten Nights in a Bar-Room and What I Saw There. Owen then trained unsuccessfully for the ministry, preaching from 1860. He intended to enter the ministry as a Methodist preacher and enrolled in Bala Theological College in 1865, but failed to complete the course. From 1867 until 1876, he worked as a tailor in Mold, preaching on Sundays.

He is credited with starting the tradition of the Welsh language novel, Rhys Lewis often being credited as the first novel written in Welsh. He was an influence on many later novelists, such as Kate Roberts and T. Rowland Hughes. He is considered one of the greatest of Welsh language novelists.

Reviews

[Judith]

I first read this at school (in Welsh) and I didn't appreciate it then (as is the case when you're forced to read/study something you have no interest in). Upon re-reading it now, the novel can rightly be regarded as a Welsh classic. It's a snapshot of Welsh society at that time, and has some very funny bits in it.

4.5 stars.

Nofel Gymraeg yn werth ei ddarllen - stori amdan y gymdeithas Gymraeg o'r oes yna (a'r holl gymeriadau ynddo) gyda elfennau ddigon doniol hefyd!

[David Grieve]

This book is an absolute gem. Daniel Owen is known as the father of the Welsh language novel and from reading this it is easy to see why. It is a classic piece of Victorian fiction, first published in 1891, that really captures the sense of time and place of north east Wales.

I read it in a translation by Les Barker as my Welsh is not up to reading the original. I get the feeling that he has really captured the spirit of the original. It is a simple story embellished by wonderful characters and a wry sense of humour. In fact it was much funnier than I was expecting.

The story is set entirely in an unnamed town (presumably Mold) in north east wales apparently around 1850. Enoc Huws is a successful shopkeeper but is very naive, unassuming and has a lack of self confidence. He is taken advantage of by a lead mine developer, Captain Trefor, who basically lives off him while constantly promising they will soon hit the motherlode. To complicate matters Enoc is enfatuated by the mine owner's daughter, Susan.

This is all surrounded by the local characters who make up the community and the constant presence of the Methodist chapel.

A wonderful book that I wouild recommend to anyone who likes Victorian literature.

[Robert Humphries]

Stori gwych ac weithiau'n ddigrif gyda chymeriadau cofiadwy. Ar y naill law mae'n werth darllen hefyd er mwyn dysgu mwy am gymdeithas, crefydd a diwylliant Cymru yn ystod y 19ed ganrif, ac yn enwedig cyflwr economaidd a chymdeithasol merched.