A Welsh Not

by S.E. Morgan

Every day a girl in Bess’s class gets beaten for using Welsh; for using their own tongue.’

Life in 1860’s Carmarthen is precarious, riven by divides of language, politics and religion. Bess Morgan’s choices are limited, for all that she was educated with Magistrate Davies’ daughter. Her only options are working as a dairymaid or a shop assistant. When her mother is carted away to the newly built asylum, after the birth of yet another baby, Bess wonders whether if she marries, she might she suffer the same problems. She yearns to continue her education, resentful that the idea is laughable. Reformers demand votes for men, but not for women, and even wealthy girls are barred from university.

Handsome Richard Morgan hates the flattery and fawning required of a draper's apprentice. He too longs to study then teach . Besotted by Magistrate Davies’ flirtatious daughter; he must find a way to marry a girl way above his station in life.

Can Bess and Richard escape the class constraints of Victorian Wales? Coal is king and the Welsh valleys boom, as Carmarthen stagnates.

A stand-alone sequel set 20 years after ‘From Waterloo to Water Street,’ the novel explores the realities of life in Wales and London in the 1860’s and 70’s. Meticulously researched, it is based on the real lives of the next generation of S E Morgan's ancestors.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

314 pages, Paperback

Published May 14, 2021

Reviews

[W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was mesmerized by well written, paced , plotted, interesting , historical fiction story .

I can only imagine the amount of research the author had to do to make this story feel so real and intimate and historical accurate.

I loved it. Now I wish I could experience it on audiobook.

I just reviewed A Welsh Not by S E Morgan. #AWelshNot #NetGalley

[Susan Wüthrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Welsh Not is a rather cruel form of punishment which was meted out to school children for speaking in Welsh, when the country was attempting to fall in line with progress being made in the rest of the United Kingdom.
It is a sweeping novel of the life and struggles of a family set in the late 1800s. The main protagonists, Beth and her brother Richard are well-characterised, especially Richard who sets his ambitions high, in wanting to be a teacher and falling for the ‘out of reach’ magistrate’s daughter, Louisa. When Beth meets Richard’s teacher friend Abel, it seems her future is mapped out, but as always in life, things don’t go the way they should. The book slowed for me halfway through, when the story of the siblings seemed to veer towards the politics of the day and the influence of the various churches in every aspect of life. I haven’t read the first in the series and think this might have given more of an insight into their past and the depth of hardships endured by the Welsh at that time.
The story had a rather abrupt ending with an obvious sequel to come. Even so, I would recommend this interesting read to book lovers of 19th Century history.

[Trick Wiley · Rating 5 out of 5]





Member Review



A Welsh Not

by S E Morgan

Pub Date: 04 May 2021

Review by



Trick W, Reviewer

Last updated on 24 Jan 2022

My Recommendation

 

S.E. Morgan did a wonderful job,taking you back in the 1800's,about the Welsh people,their language and what was the way of life back in the day! Follow this historical story about this wonderful world and the people and the love of not of two people,will their love be enough and encouraging to face the others in the world who want to destroy their way of life! I learned so very much about Wales and what life was like back then and why it was this way!! Received from Net Gallery..this is a very much of a read so you can place yourself in their world and be thankful for what they had to fight for and fur where we are now!! Another S E Morgan's best written stories!!!

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[Sian Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A glimpse into bygone times
In 1860’s Carmarthen, young Bess Morgan takes a beating from her 15-year-old teacher to save another girl. Just for speaking Welsh in class. This novel is full of life – the everyday kind – but in an era that feels like a world away from where we are now. It’s also full of well-written characters and an abundance of social and political history. It was interesting to find out that it is based on a real family (the author’s ancestors) of whom photos are available on the author’s website.
I would have liked to know what decision Bess made right at the end of the book, but perhaps a sequel is planned? If so, I’ll be buying it.

[Cindy Hemric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was about the Morgan family, mostly Richard and Bess. I was so emotionally involved with both. When the story ended (I felt it ended too quickly), I was very disappointed. I wish the story had gone further with maybe better endings for both Richard and Bess. The writer wrote most of the story but actual events, but not all. I think the bending should have went a little further. It was bad enough what happened to Abel, but Bess did not take Mr. Davies either. Then there was poor Richard, he loved but it was never returned. I like happier endings.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really interesting story about life in 19th century Wales, a location/era that I don't see very often. The story was well-written and was pleasant to read. I definitely appreciated the fact that these stories were about the author's ancestors, so were very heavily based on "real life". She did change a couple of things to fit the narrative, so it qualifies as historical fiction, but it definitely has a very realistic feel to it. When the book ended, I wanted more - I really would have liked to see what happened next to all of the characters (Note: there are spoilers if you read the author's website as far as "what happened next")

I gave this book 3.5 stars because it was an enjoyable read, but I wouldn't classify it as an easy read due to all of the Welsh terms that make it a little hard to read if you're not familiar with the language (I am not - and thus stumbled mentally on how to pronounce those words even in my own head). I also felt like the author could have done a little bit more to bring out the emotion in some of the events in the story - they were very factually told, but some of the things that I thought should have been tear-jerkers just didn't evoke much of an emotional response in the reader.

I would recommend this to anybody who is interested in reading about family histories, historical racism or UK/British c0mmonwealth history.

Thanks to #NetGalley, SE Morgan, and the publisher for providing this book at no cost to me in exchange for my unbiased review.

#AWelshNot

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Welsh Not by S.E. Morgan is an entertaining book taking place in Wales in 1863, right when England was doing its best to outlaw the speaking of Welsh and generally keep the Welsh people down as unintelligent and beneath them. It is a slice of life novel following one family through the ends of their childhoods and their entry into adulthood. It portrays the hardships of life for a poor Welsh family and how they managed to cope. The Welsh not is a switch used to slap the hands of any child in school caught speaking Welsh. It is used at the discretion of the teacher and not always used well.

It was a moving story, historically pretty accurate, and kind of heartbreaking. Things happen in life: people die, jobs/careers don't work out as one might hope, romances fail. But, life goes on. This was a moving story of one such family. It wasn't pretty, but it wasn't all bad and it allows us to live for a little while in someone else's shoes, which is always a good thing. It is definitely worth the read, sad though it may be.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of A Welsh Not by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #awelshnot

[Malia Arries · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOW DID THE AUTHOR DO IT?
You won’t merely be reading this story – you will indeed be living this story! A WELSH NOT is an extensively and meticulously researched historical novel based on real people. I suggest you go to the back of the book first (find the author’s website link to photos), view the faces and some of the events portrayed, then after you reach THE END, look at them again… to experience the emotional connection you made with these people and their lives.
As I did, you might find yourself wanting to walk with Richard and Bess up to “the Garn above the Big House,” sit on “enormous boulders from the time a Roman fort stood there,” and talk with them about how much their values and the things they fought for have improved the lives of the generations that followed them. AN EXCEPTIONAL BOOK.

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

A realistic story of life in 1860 Wales. Punishing children for speaking the welsh language in school A really good read.