What do you think?
Rate this book
A Welsh Witch
'They say she's a real witch...Don't speak to her or let her eyes fall upon thee.'
Treswnd has elected Catrin as the village scapegoat, shunning and stoning her as a witch. But Catrin's loneliness is eased by a growing friendship with Goronwy, with whom she shares her knowledge of the underground waterways of the 'Deep Stream' lying beneath Treswnd. Before he can fully appreciate her strength, however, he must undergo a shipwreck and a coal pit disaster in south Wales that leaves them trapped for days underground, 'along with the dead, the dying, and the frenzied around him,' while Catrin escapes the opprobrium of her neighbours by running away with Nancy Wood and her Welsh gipsy tribe.
First published in 1902, A Welsh Witch parallels a superstitious fishing village and an early industrial community with its harsh working conditions, and explores the ways in which human resilience and empathy can make a 'romance of rough places'.
Treswnd has elected Catrin as the village scapegoat, shunning and stoning her as a witch. But Catrin's loneliness is eased by a growing friendship with Goronwy, with whom she shares her knowledge of the underground waterways of the 'Deep Stream' lying beneath Treswnd. Before he can fully appreciate her strength, however, he must undergo a shipwreck and a coal pit disaster in south Wales that leaves them trapped for days underground, 'along with the dead, the dying, and the frenzied around him,' while Catrin escapes the opprobrium of her neighbours by running away with Nancy Wood and her Welsh gipsy tribe.
First published in 1902, A Welsh Witch parallels a superstitious fishing village and an early industrial community with its harsh working conditions, and explores the ways in which human resilience and empathy can make a 'romance of rough places'.
405 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1902
7 people are currently reading
308 people want to read
About the author
Allen Raine
19 books7 followersAllen Raine, the pen name of Anne Adaliza Puddicombe, was one of the best-selling authors of the late Victorian/early Edwardian age.
She spent time in London for her education and marriage, but eventually returned to her Welsh roots. Wales features largely in her romantic fiction, with titles like A Welsh Singer (1896) and A Welsh Witch (1902).
Her books sold millions of copies, not only across Wales but in the whole of Britain, and yet these days she is largely forgotten or ignored.
She spent time in London for her education and marriage, but eventually returned to her Welsh roots. Wales features largely in her romantic fiction, with titles like A Welsh Singer (1896) and A Welsh Witch (1902).
Her books sold millions of copies, not only across Wales but in the whole of Britain, and yet these days she is largely forgotten or ignored.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 21, 2019
Anne Adaliza Beynon Puddicombe – who wrote under the name Allen Raine – was a popular novelist in her day, selling more than two million books and seeing some of them turned into very early silent films.
I can understand that success, because this book was beautifully written and the story it told was captivating.
That story tells of the lives of four young people who have grown up in a sea-side village of Treswnd on the Cardiganshire coast: Catrin Rees, Goronwy Hughes, Yshbel Lloyd and Walto Gwyn.
Catrin is the ‘Welsh Witch’ of the title. She was happier out on the hills and in the countryside than she was at home with her father, who had struggled to cope since the death of the gypsy girl he had married, and her two dour brothers. The natural world had become her natural home, and she had an uncanny intimacy with it. But when she spoke to the village priest about how she saw God and his work not in the church but all around her every day, he condemned her, he spoke out against her, and she was ostracised by his congregation.
Goronwy was her only friend. He had been away at sea when that great drama was happening, and curiosity took him out into the countryside to see Catrin. That curiosity grew into friendship as he came to understand her way of life and to appreciate – and share – her relationship with nature. In time that relationship grew into something deeper but careless words from Goronwy did a great deal of harm.
Yshbel was the girl he intended to marry. They had been childhood sweethearts, and though he was a farm boy and her family was of rather higher social standing, they saw much that was good in Goronwy and agreed to an engagement. They simply asked that it be a long engagement, and they sent Yshbel to visit relations in town so she could see that there were other possibilities open to her before she finally settled down. Yshbel had a lovely time, she saw wonderful possibilities, but she missed her home and the countryside terribly, and she was trouble about her engagement. She and Goronwy were the best of friends, she didn’t want to hurt him, but she had deeper feeling for someone else.
Walto, Goronwy’s best friend was that someone else, and he was miles away, in the coalfields of Glamorganshire. He loved his home village but he was the only son of a widowed mother who could see no future for him there and encouraged him to go. Because he wanted her to be happy, and because he was in love with the girl he believed loved and would marry his best friend, he went ….
These characters, their experiences, and the world around them were beautifully realised; and that drew me right into the story. It moved slowly and I was happy with that, because I loved hearing the characters talk, I loved being in the country with them, and I loved the time taken to reflect.
The stars that glittered in the sky above Penmwntan, the moon that shed so soft a light over the landscape, looked down also upon the solitary figure of a girl, who had sat long in the same position, leaning against the rough-shelled rock which she had chose for her seat; her feet hanging down so near the water that sometimes the swelling wave reached them, and wetted the soles of her little wooden shoes. It was Yshbel, whose footsteps often turned to the broken rocks lying under the cliff. She looked at her cottage door, where the fire lit up the tiny window and the open doorway, but she took no step towards it. The moon was so enticing, the waves lisped so softly at her feet, the breeze blew so gently around her, and all the mysterious sounds of night which came to her over the sea, awoke within her such dreams of beauty and happiness that she could not leave her rocky seat. She was often musing thus,dreaming of the wonderful world beyond the horn of the bay, the towns, the cities, which she heard the sailors speak of sometimes.
Fate, or rather Providence, had ordained that her lot should be cast in scenes where the rough exigencies of life brought out the stronger traits of her character, and checked the tendency towards romance which was strong within her. They could not, however, entirely quench the poetic temperament with which she had been endowed, and, as she drew her fingers over her coral necklace, it not only reminded her of the scenes of grandeur and beauty with which it might link her in the future, but also led her back in thought to the past years of her life, the happy wanderings on the shore, the joyous hours spent idling on the shimmering sea, the cosy hearth where her childhood had glided so peacefully away ….
A great deal happens along the way. There is as a shipwreck; there is a land dispute that is solved in the most unexpected way; there is a journey with gypsies, into unfamiliar country ; and there is underground mining disaster that leaves men trapped.
All of these events are vividly realised, and it is so easy to believe that they really happened, that they were events that the characters would look back on in years ahead.
I was particularly taken with the two young women at the centre of the story – Catrin and Yshbel. At first I thought that the author might be setting them up as opposites, but I soon realised that they had a great deal in common, and the difference was in their circumstances.
Their characters and their relationship – all of the characters and relationships – evolve in a way that feels entirely natural and right as the seasons pass.
The story is well crafted, and it speaks profoundly of the pull of home, and of the pull of settings one’s own course through life.
It is sentimental at times, it contains some familiar tropes, but as a whole it works wonderfully well and I am looking forward to investigating the author’s other books.
I can understand that success, because this book was beautifully written and the story it told was captivating.
That story tells of the lives of four young people who have grown up in a sea-side village of Treswnd on the Cardiganshire coast: Catrin Rees, Goronwy Hughes, Yshbel Lloyd and Walto Gwyn.
Catrin is the ‘Welsh Witch’ of the title. She was happier out on the hills and in the countryside than she was at home with her father, who had struggled to cope since the death of the gypsy girl he had married, and her two dour brothers. The natural world had become her natural home, and she had an uncanny intimacy with it. But when she spoke to the village priest about how she saw God and his work not in the church but all around her every day, he condemned her, he spoke out against her, and she was ostracised by his congregation.
Goronwy was her only friend. He had been away at sea when that great drama was happening, and curiosity took him out into the countryside to see Catrin. That curiosity grew into friendship as he came to understand her way of life and to appreciate – and share – her relationship with nature. In time that relationship grew into something deeper but careless words from Goronwy did a great deal of harm.
Yshbel was the girl he intended to marry. They had been childhood sweethearts, and though he was a farm boy and her family was of rather higher social standing, they saw much that was good in Goronwy and agreed to an engagement. They simply asked that it be a long engagement, and they sent Yshbel to visit relations in town so she could see that there were other possibilities open to her before she finally settled down. Yshbel had a lovely time, she saw wonderful possibilities, but she missed her home and the countryside terribly, and she was trouble about her engagement. She and Goronwy were the best of friends, she didn’t want to hurt him, but she had deeper feeling for someone else.
Walto, Goronwy’s best friend was that someone else, and he was miles away, in the coalfields of Glamorganshire. He loved his home village but he was the only son of a widowed mother who could see no future for him there and encouraged him to go. Because he wanted her to be happy, and because he was in love with the girl he believed loved and would marry his best friend, he went ….
These characters, their experiences, and the world around them were beautifully realised; and that drew me right into the story. It moved slowly and I was happy with that, because I loved hearing the characters talk, I loved being in the country with them, and I loved the time taken to reflect.
The stars that glittered in the sky above Penmwntan, the moon that shed so soft a light over the landscape, looked down also upon the solitary figure of a girl, who had sat long in the same position, leaning against the rough-shelled rock which she had chose for her seat; her feet hanging down so near the water that sometimes the swelling wave reached them, and wetted the soles of her little wooden shoes. It was Yshbel, whose footsteps often turned to the broken rocks lying under the cliff. She looked at her cottage door, where the fire lit up the tiny window and the open doorway, but she took no step towards it. The moon was so enticing, the waves lisped so softly at her feet, the breeze blew so gently around her, and all the mysterious sounds of night which came to her over the sea, awoke within her such dreams of beauty and happiness that she could not leave her rocky seat. She was often musing thus,dreaming of the wonderful world beyond the horn of the bay, the towns, the cities, which she heard the sailors speak of sometimes.
Fate, or rather Providence, had ordained that her lot should be cast in scenes where the rough exigencies of life brought out the stronger traits of her character, and checked the tendency towards romance which was strong within her. They could not, however, entirely quench the poetic temperament with which she had been endowed, and, as she drew her fingers over her coral necklace, it not only reminded her of the scenes of grandeur and beauty with which it might link her in the future, but also led her back in thought to the past years of her life, the happy wanderings on the shore, the joyous hours spent idling on the shimmering sea, the cosy hearth where her childhood had glided so peacefully away ….
A great deal happens along the way. There is as a shipwreck; there is a land dispute that is solved in the most unexpected way; there is a journey with gypsies, into unfamiliar country ; and there is underground mining disaster that leaves men trapped.
All of these events are vividly realised, and it is so easy to believe that they really happened, that they were events that the characters would look back on in years ahead.
I was particularly taken with the two young women at the centre of the story – Catrin and Yshbel. At first I thought that the author might be setting them up as opposites, but I soon realised that they had a great deal in common, and the difference was in their circumstances.
Their characters and their relationship – all of the characters and relationships – evolve in a way that feels entirely natural and right as the seasons pass.
The story is well crafted, and it speaks profoundly of the pull of home, and of the pull of settings one’s own course through life.
It is sentimental at times, it contains some familiar tropes, but as a whole it works wonderfully well and I am looking forward to investigating the author’s other books.
October 23, 2017
Adored this for all the reasons I adore Sylvia's Lovers. The setting of the Welsh coast made for such a beautiful element of the plot - the landscape having a deep relationship with the characters. Loved that this also had some humor in it. I also loved how well we got to know Catrin and Yshbel - the two female protagonists. It's also full of beautiful and reflective passages that I love so much - reminding me of Hardy. Definitely a new favorite!
May 1, 2011
A Welsh Witch is one of Allen Raine's books that hasn't been reprinted and isn't available as an ebook, and isn't even in the university library. I was lucky to be able to borrow it.
Most of it is, for Allen Raine, totally unsurprising. The trope of the mismatched romantic pairs, the idyllic scenery -- if I accuse Richard Llewellyn of sentimentality, how much more must I point my finger at Allan Raine. But, for the most part, I did enjoy it, even if I wanted to wring most of the characters' necks for the ridiculous complications.
It's notable, of course, for being the first published fictional account of a pit explosion. That part is very well written, and not a little harrowing.
Goronwy Hughes is cut from the same cloth as Gildas Rees, in Queen of the Rushes, and Catrin Rees is very like Gwenifer Owen, so there is a certain sense of it being more or less the same story.
Most of it is, for Allen Raine, totally unsurprising. The trope of the mismatched romantic pairs, the idyllic scenery -- if I accuse Richard Llewellyn of sentimentality, how much more must I point my finger at Allan Raine. But, for the most part, I did enjoy it, even if I wanted to wring most of the characters' necks for the ridiculous complications.
It's notable, of course, for being the first published fictional account of a pit explosion. That part is very well written, and not a little harrowing.
Goronwy Hughes is cut from the same cloth as Gildas Rees, in Queen of the Rushes, and Catrin Rees is very like Gwenifer Owen, so there is a certain sense of it being more or less the same story.
February 2, 2023
If I can convince you to read any book. This is the book. If it takes you a bit to get into, stick with it, I’m glad I did. The depictions of these unfamiliar but familiar Welsh towns. The use of Welsh phrases and the story of these four closely tied individuals. All make for such an enchanting read.
October 9, 2022
★★★★★ - 5 stars
This was beautiful
This was beautiful
May 1, 2019
And another from Honno Welsh Women's Classics! I really enjoyed this tale of star-crossed lovers. It has a most powerful sense of place and how deeply the characters are rooted in it, and the descriptions of the landscape are lovely. The sense of a small, close community is claustrophobic at times, with its dark side epitomised in the treatment of the heroine Catrin, who is shunned or bullied because the villagers think she is a witch. A wonderful read.
April 24, 2022
“All the sweet sounds of night fell on her ears, the grey slopes shimmered in the faint moonlight . . . The scene, the sounds, were all familiar to her, but unconsciously they awoke in her that satisfying delight, for which she had no words, and which only those who have lived alone with nature can understand.”
~~~~~~~~~~
3.5. This is the Welsh version of Emily Lawless' "Grania" and Thomas Hardy's "The Return of the Native." Overall, I enjoyed this but found the first half stronger. I liked the story much more when the character's were pre-teens/teens. Once we get to the halfway point and the four main characters are grown, my interest waned a bit. Catrin was definitely my favorite character! Raine's social analysis is not as deep as Hardy's. I find Hardy's commentary more complex and compelling. With that said, though, if you enjoy Hardy's nature writing and rural, isolated settings, you'll likely enjoy this. Beautifully written with a strong sense of place and atmosphere.
~~~~~~~~~~
3.5. This is the Welsh version of Emily Lawless' "Grania" and Thomas Hardy's "The Return of the Native." Overall, I enjoyed this but found the first half stronger. I liked the story much more when the character's were pre-teens/teens. Once we get to the halfway point and the four main characters are grown, my interest waned a bit. Catrin was definitely my favorite character! Raine's social analysis is not as deep as Hardy's. I find Hardy's commentary more complex and compelling. With that said, though, if you enjoy Hardy's nature writing and rural, isolated settings, you'll likely enjoy this. Beautifully written with a strong sense of place and atmosphere.
January 26, 2025
Classic tale from an environment of farming and fishing life in Cardigan. Coming of age for Goronwy, Waldo, Yshbel and Catryn (the Welsh witch). The Hughes’ and Rees’ have adjoining farmland divided by a stream and an ongoing ownership debate. The families are status divided, unfamiliar habits regarded as witchcraft especially when their actions cannot be fathomed by logic. Catrin and Goronwy are bosom pals in their teens, growing up tearing them apart. A beautiful story with Welsh language snippets that hold life into the telling.
October 14, 2021
****this is a preview of my review coming SUNDAY on my blog, zbestbooks.blogspot.com****
When I started this book, I was expecting to find it challenging to read (but hoping it wouldn't be) and thinking that I would maybe like it. How very wrong I was!
This book just surpassed all my expectations. It's everything I love in a Victorian book: it's got great social commentary on different communities and lifestyles, it's got a wonderful love story, beautiful descriptions, memorable characters, high emotions and the list just goes on! What a novel! It didn't feel long at all, even if I read it for nearly two weeks and it lasted 435 pages! It just was AMAZING and what I've got out of it is priceless. I could apply some of the situations the characters get into to my own problems and that is another thing I love in a good classic: being able to relate to it, even if it was written over 100 years ago!
I also now NEED more Allen Raine! I know she has one other book from the Welsh Women's Classics series so that's probably the easiest to get hold of, because otherwise I'm going to have to scour online websites to get some second hand! If anyone knows of anywhere please let me know!!!
I'm pretty sure this is the start of a long friendship between me and Allen Raine and I CAN'T WAIT. If you take one thing away from this review, it's to PLEASE read Allen Raine because she deserves so much more recognition!
When I started this book, I was expecting to find it challenging to read (but hoping it wouldn't be) and thinking that I would maybe like it. How very wrong I was!
This book just surpassed all my expectations. It's everything I love in a Victorian book: it's got great social commentary on different communities and lifestyles, it's got a wonderful love story, beautiful descriptions, memorable characters, high emotions and the list just goes on! What a novel! It didn't feel long at all, even if I read it for nearly two weeks and it lasted 435 pages! It just was AMAZING and what I've got out of it is priceless. I could apply some of the situations the characters get into to my own problems and that is another thing I love in a good classic: being able to relate to it, even if it was written over 100 years ago!
I also now NEED more Allen Raine! I know she has one other book from the Welsh Women's Classics series so that's probably the easiest to get hold of, because otherwise I'm going to have to scour online websites to get some second hand! If anyone knows of anywhere please let me know!!!
I'm pretty sure this is the start of a long friendship between me and Allen Raine and I CAN'T WAIT. If you take one thing away from this review, it's to PLEASE read Allen Raine because she deserves so much more recognition!
November 1, 2021
Over the past few years I have been repeatedly shocked by how many forgotten (mainly female) authors were writing books that would be considered modern even by today’s standards so I am always excited to try someone new. Sadly however, for me this doesn’t fall in to that category and is much more traditional.. It was interesting to read about rural Wales and the descriptions of daily life and the countryside are generally beautiful, but I found too much of the storyline a bit trite and sentimental. In fairness I don’t think this is any different to a lot of the literature of the time so I wouldn’t want to single this out as being bad - it has plenty of charm and there is plenty that is comforting about it, but it’s not really my cup of tea at all.
January 19, 2022
A nice love story with a great setting. I really felt like I knew what the countryside of Wales looked like which I very much enjoyed. Though a critique I'd have is some of the lengthy descriptions towards the end of the book when you're eager to just know what would happen next with the characters, it bogged you down with long descriptions and a horrid chapter on being stuck in a mining tunnel collapse with some awful stuff on starving and wanting to make due with what was there to eat! Nasty! Plus, the detail of the mining town was of little interest by this point as you just wanted to know if they'd get together!
April 24, 2025
#ReadAroundTheWorld #Wales
This was a quaint, lyrical read by Anne Adaliza Beynon Puddicombe under the pen name of Allen Raine, first published in 1902. Set in the village of Treswnd, on the Cardiganshire coast, it features Catrin Rees, known by the village as a witch girl, her one friend Goronwy Hughes, the beautiful Yshbel Lloyd, and the dedicated Walto Gwyn.
Catrin loves to spend her time in the beautiful outdoors, and out of the clutches of her violent father and the bullying village boys. Goronwy is gradually drawn into Catrin’s world of simple country pleasures, and a friendship and admiration develops between the two. Goronwy has always stridently stated he would marry the most beautiful girl in the village Yshbel, and would never be so foolish as to marry a witch. Yshbel, meanwhile, has always cared for Walto Gwyn, whose ambitious mother thinks she is beneath their family, and will not pass on Walto’s letters from the coalfields of Glamorganshire. Will the star-crossed lovers manage to untangle this mess or will convention prevail?
This was a beautifully written, captivating story which pays homage to the Welsh language and countryside. There is a brief interlude with Nancy Wood and her gypsy family. The whole thing felt like a delightful fairytale.
This was a quaint, lyrical read by Anne Adaliza Beynon Puddicombe under the pen name of Allen Raine, first published in 1902. Set in the village of Treswnd, on the Cardiganshire coast, it features Catrin Rees, known by the village as a witch girl, her one friend Goronwy Hughes, the beautiful Yshbel Lloyd, and the dedicated Walto Gwyn.
Catrin loves to spend her time in the beautiful outdoors, and out of the clutches of her violent father and the bullying village boys. Goronwy is gradually drawn into Catrin’s world of simple country pleasures, and a friendship and admiration develops between the two. Goronwy has always stridently stated he would marry the most beautiful girl in the village Yshbel, and would never be so foolish as to marry a witch. Yshbel, meanwhile, has always cared for Walto Gwyn, whose ambitious mother thinks she is beneath their family, and will not pass on Walto’s letters from the coalfields of Glamorganshire. Will the star-crossed lovers manage to untangle this mess or will convention prevail?
This was a beautifully written, captivating story which pays homage to the Welsh language and countryside. There is a brief interlude with Nancy Wood and her gypsy family. The whole thing felt like a delightful fairytale.
May 13, 2019
What a beautifully written book! I really enjoyed it and found the descriptions of the scenery idyllic and the story itself was brilliant!
Want to read
July 21, 2021Recommended on Kate Howe’s YouTube Channel - July 2021
October 21, 2022
That book was so beautiful, I loved the characters, the depiction of nature and I am so glad to have discovered this lesser known title.
February 13, 2025
Spearheading the Allen Raine-issance in the grand ole year of 2025 cause, A Welsh Witch ur going in my diss baby!!
September 21, 2013
thoughts to come after reading group.....
well, everyone enjoyed this in reading group and I did too, although I did find it a little too long and a little too romantic for my tastes. It's pretty cosy and gentle stuff (I found myself hoping something bad was going to happen... especially down the mines), but it's also really easy and nice to read.
I was mainly interested in it in a historical sense - it's nice to read books set in wales in 1902 with lots of welsh words too (i'm trying to bring 'Caton Pawb' back)and it has quite vivid characters and sense of place.
well, everyone enjoyed this in reading group and I did too, although I did find it a little too long and a little too romantic for my tastes. It's pretty cosy and gentle stuff (I found myself hoping something bad was going to happen... especially down the mines), but it's also really easy and nice to read.
I was mainly interested in it in a historical sense - it's nice to read books set in wales in 1902 with lots of welsh words too (i'm trying to bring 'Caton Pawb' back)and it has quite vivid characters and sense of place.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews