Afterglow and Nightfall

Brothers of Gwynedd #4

by Edith Pargeter

Edith Pargeter, who also writes as Ellis Peters, Afterglow and Nightfall, paperback

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, 13th Century

341 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

aka Peter Benedict, Jolyon Carr, Ellis Peters (later editions of her work are sometimes published under this pseudonym), and John Redfern

West Midlands Literary Heritage website biography

Novelist. Born September 1913 at Horsehay, Shropshire. Her father was a clerk at a local ironworks. Edith attended Dawley Church of England School and the Coalbrookdale High School for Girls. Through her mother, she grew to love the history and countryside of Shropshire, her home for all of her life.

Before World War II she worked as a chemist's assistant at Dawley. During this time she started writing seriously for publication while gathering useful information on medicines that she would draw upon later when tackling crime stories. Her first published novel was Hortensius, friend of Nero (1936), a rather dry tale of martyrdom that was not a great success but she persevered and The city lies foursquare (1939) was much more warmly received.

During the war she worked in an administrative role with the Women's Royal Navy Service in Liverpool, a relatively brief period away from Shropshire, and for her devotion to duty she received the British Empire Medal. Many more novels appeared at this time, including Ordinary people (1941) and She goes to war (1942), the latter based on her own wartime experiences. The eighth champion of Christendom appeared in 1945 and from now on she was able to devote all her time to writing. She was particularly proud of her Heaven tree trilogy, which appeared between 1961 and 1963, which had as a backdrop the English Welsh borderlands in the twelfth century.

It was not until 1951 that she tackled a mystery story with Fallen into the pit, the first appearance of Sergeant George Felse as the investigating police officer. Her other great character, and the one for which the author will continue to be known the world over, Brother Cadfael, was to follow many years later. The first appearance of this monk at Shrewsbury Abbey was in A morbid taste for bones (1977) and he mixed his herbs and unravelled mysteries in this atmospheric setting for a further nineteen novels. This kept the author very busy for the remaining 18 years of her life, to the virtual exclusion of all other work.

The name "Ellis Peters" was adopted by Edith Pargeter to clearly mark a division between her mystery stories and her other work. Her brother was Ellis and Petra was a friend from Czechoslovakia. A frequent visitor to the country, Edith Pargeter had begun her association and deep interest in their culture after meeting Czechoslovakian soldiers during the war. This was to lead to her learning the language translating several books into English.

She won awards for her writing from both the British Crime Writers Association and the Mystery Writers of America. She was also awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire), an honorary Masters Degree from Birmingham University and the Gold Medal of the Czechoslovak Society for Foreign Relations. There is a memorial to her in Shrewsbury Abbey.

After her death in October 1995, The Times published a full obituary that declared that here was "a deeply sensitive and perceptive woman....an intensely private and modest person " whose writing was "direct, even a little stilted, matching a self-contained personality".

Reviews

[Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I shall have withdrawal symptoms, after reading the four books back-to-back. The tension is not as great as it might be in most of her books in this the fourth of the quartet, as I knew the historical outcome of the action, but her touch with drawing the emotions out of a situation and painting a vivid and engrossing landscape peopled with characters one really has got to know nd care about, is as deft as always. I am compiling a map with pictures of the various places and castles which feature in the four books, and found we had a historical map of Wales, which also ties in well. An American friend has just said she gave up reading the series at this stage because of the narrator annoying her, but I found the parallels with Llewelyn an interesting device to explain how one man knew so much about the events throughout the series, and felt that she justified the weight put upon his love affair by the clever twists in the final book, where the use of particular characters fitted the events and outcome so cleverly.
What a series!

[Bikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I put this book down in the middle because I was having a hard time getting through it - I didn't want to read a sad ending although I knew essentially what the ending was going to be. I was encouraged to keep going and the last 150 pages flew by and I am glad that I plugged through.

I thought the series was well written and thorough in description. I liked the use of the narrator who could tie the story together, but who also had his own story. Although I don't know how realistic that was, it was an effective way to tell the story.

[Luisa Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t want to read this book, knowing it must end in loss, grief and betrayal, and in Edward I’s sickening vengeance. Yet the emotional attachment I felt added to the experience in a way that wasn’t as strong when reading the three volumes preceding it.
Once the early chapters were done, with their seemingly endless litigation, almost as tedious to me as they must have been to Llywelyn, the action picked up. This was, for me, the most exciting book in the quartet. It may take me a while to compose myself now it’s over.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Final tragic volume of the Brothers of Gwynedd quadrilogy, as Edward I closes his fist around Wales and two brothers fight to the last to defend it.
The whole series has been very interesting, if a bit slow at times.

[J.R. Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cry. My blood boils.

Should I meet God, I will spit in his eye.

May all of Eduard's lineage rot in this life and the next!

[Zareen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth novel in the stories of the Brothers who were the Princes of Wales. It was about the relationship between them. It was mirrored in the relationship between Samson & his legitimate half brother Godred, a Judas like character. The only difference is that Judas was confused & repented of his treachery but I am unsure whether Godred ever reprinted of anything evil he committed.
The narrator is Samson who served as clerk to Prince Llewelyn who he loved & to whom he was unswervingly committed. Sometimes the novels read like a hagiography of Prince Llewlyn. However, using Samson as a narrator worked for me. Each person has a perspective on an event and I liked Samson's.

[Rachel Houston · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was all the boredom of reading a non-fiction book without the benefit of being able to say you read a non-fiction book. Maybe it was just a let down after reading Sharon Kay Penman's version of Llewelyn in The Reckoning.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Afterglow and Nightfall brings to a close Edith Pargeter’s four volume historical novel The Brothers of Gwynedd. Although she has written about Llewelyn Fawr and Owen Glendower elsewhere, Llewelyn ap Griffith, the historical focus of this story, is a more sympathetic figure. In this portrayal he is a selfless leader trying to build a nation, despite the lack of cohesion among the regional Welsh chiefs and his disputes with his own three brothers. This last book tells the story of his defeat by Edward I, leading to his death and that of his brother, David in 1282. For me this was a good way to learn the history of the period and immerse myself in a good story at the same time. The story is told in the first person by the fictional Samson, born on the same day as Prince Llewelyn, who acts as clerk and constant and most trusted companion to the prince. Even if the historical Llewelyn had more faults (he was probably resented for pushing his brothers aside and levying taxes), it is difficult for the reader not to sympathize with his struggle against England and Edward I. A small glimmer of hope remains at the end for Samson, if not for Wales.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m sad - sad that I’ve finished this wonderful quartet of books and sad for Wales at the hands of the dreadful Edward.
I love historical fiction and it is rare in modern times to find any that matches the quality of Pargeter

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up books 2 and 4 of the series from a second hand store, read one last year and then the second one this year. Lots of characters, lots of place names, I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and the immediate action, but was completely lost at what the overall arc of the series was

[John Newcomb · Rating 3 out of 5]

It all ends in tears for those Welsh princes in the last of the quadology.

[Marilyn Saul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally made it through the series. Phew. Tired of all the wars and Welsh dysfunction. Still well worth the read.

[Doodles McC · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a young teen I loved this historical story, one of my favourite of that year.