BLACK EYED DEVILS - QUICK READ

by Catrin Collier

Tonypandy, South Wales, 1911, starving miners fight soldiers and police on the picket lines for the right to earn a wage that will clothe and feed their families, while Irish labourers are brought in to take their jobs for half their pay. Handsome 'Big' Tom Kelly, an Irish worker, believes he has found a future worth living when he falls in love with Amy Watkins, the daughter of a strike leader, but under cover of night, the Welsh miners search out the Irish men, drag them from their beds, beat them and hang them from the street lamp posts. Can Amy and Tom keep their love a secret? All they want is to be together. But in a world full of hatred, anger and violence, their dream seems impossible. Until a stranger steps in and offers them a way out.

Genres: Romance, Historical

103 pages, Paperback

Published August 22, 2019

About the author

Catrin Collier is Wales' most prolific and well-known author of historical, romantic fictions. The daughter of a Prussian refugee and Welsh father, she grew up in Pontypridd. Her first historical novel Hearts of Gold, was filmed as a mini-series by the BBC in 2003. Her crime book, By Any Name, written as Katherine John was filmed by Tanabi and released on Amazon Prime in 2017. She lives with her family on the Gower Peninsula, near Swansea. More information on Catrin Collier, Katherine John and Caro French's books can be found on her website www.catrincollier.co.uk

Reviews

[Erica⭐ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in a Welsh coal mining village in the Rhonda valleys in the early 1900's, Historically correct, we get a social peep into how women and men interacted in village communities and in the home in those days, and running through it all there is a love story with a real twist in the tail. The author captures the bleak situation the striking miners families endured, it captures their gritty determination to gain some respect for the working man, to get better conditions and to be able to feed their family. Even more desperate was the situation faced by the men sneaked in from other areas or from England or Ireland, already in starvation mode they were bought off by the government to come in and work the mines, further devaluing and disrupting the cause of the striking miners.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the Welsh miners of Tonypandy went on strike in the early 1900s, the bosses brought in foreigners from Ireland to steal their jobs, and the Welsh weren’t pleased. But handsome Tom’s sympathies lie with the strikers and his dream is emigrate to America. Unfortunately he’s a black-eyed Irishman in a village where anger is rapidly wending its way towards violence, and falling in love with a miner’s daughter doesn’t help his cause.

Catrin Collier’s well-researched and well-told tale brings the world of the miners' strikes to vivid life, with the grime of coal, the love of family, and the company of poverty set against cruel bosses with police and army struggling to keep the peace. The dialog reads beautifully with Welsh and Irish accents as clear and evocative as the tales they tell. Black-Eyed Devils is a lovely short novel, less than a hundred pages, that surely can’t be called a novella since its characters are so strong. Tom and Amy’s love grows sweetly as miners’ discussions grow more heated. And just when all seems lost, hope rises with pleasing surprises from broken dreams. Romantic, historical, and thought-provoking, with insights as valid today as they were back then, Black-Eyed Devils is easy to pick up and hard to put down—a truly enjoyable, involving tale



Disclosure: I borrowed this small book from my sister-in-law.

[Denise Musson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very quick read, good as introduction to Collier

[Michelle Langford · Rating 4 out of 5]

85 pages of satisfaction.

[Tracy Enright · Rating 3 out of 5]

For Tom and Amy, it's love at first sight. The only problem is she's a strike-leading miner's daughter and he's blackleg miner brought in from Ireland. Their relationship develops under the cloud of violent clashes between the miners and the police and mine-owners.

This book gives an insight into how hard it was for the miners, and their families, when there was no coal for the fire and the only food came from a soup kitchen. I have to admit, it was a little while before I realised the story was set in the early 1900s rather than the 1980s. The characters were believable and their actions were faithful to their natures. I do wonder about the name of the White Star Liner at the end though...

[K.J. Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was thoroughly drawn into Amy and Tom's story. The Welsh miners in Tonypandy went on strike, and the mine bosses brought in Irish men to fill their jobs. Needless to say, the locals are not happy. One of these Irish 'Blacklegs' is Tom, and he falls head over heels for Amy, the daughter of one of the striking miners. The historical truths, teamed with the main characters and sub characters backstories make for an interesting read. You can't help but root for Amy and Tom, and the ending was perfect.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story. Looking forward to reading more books by this author =]

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audio book and quite enjoyed it. The Welsh and Irish dialogues came over quite strongly. One quite big plot twist in the novel, other than that it was quite predictable.

[Pauline Haycocks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will definitely read more of these books.

[lynne Marsha Lomond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love books like this based on real historical events. A great read

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good quick read.

[Jemimah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad story. It's quite short so easy to get through. I happened to have this in my house and I thought it was worth a read. It's not something I'd usually grab but I did enjoy it.