Fiction
Category: Fiction, Short Stories
Number of pages: 342
ISBN: 9781854111173
Publication date: May 11, 1995
Price: £6.95
Out of stock
Elgar Davies, Hon. Sec. of Pontlast RFC; scandalised Elmyra Mouth; lawyer Bunny Leyshon; Jehoidah Wetter, public convenience attendant; dream girl Dottie Lemon; Esme and her famous fly-half husband. The characters from Alun Richards’s classic short stories are joined by new figures soon to be held in equal affection: T.J., leading figure in the new television company; milkman Jimmy Reeve; Ben Brayley, returning celebrity; Huw Pugh-Jones, who gets the boating bug. From the valleys chip shop to Broadcasting House, and from the rugby club to the yacht club, Alun Richards creates a world marked by his acute observation and exact ear for dialogue. Surefooted in the politics of relationships, adept at his reading of social strata, sympathetic to the weaknesses of his characters, Richards is writing at his best in these memorable stories.
Alun Richards
Alun Richards (1929-2004) was born in Pontypridd at an economically unstable time for Wales. He studied at Swansea University and taught in secondary schools and as a university tutor. Much of his writing explored the lives of men in south Wales or at sea. His books include six novels and several collections of short stories – most notably, Home to an Empty House, Dai Country, The Former Miss Merthyr Tydfil and Ennal’s Point. He was the editor of The Penguin Book of Welsh Short Stories (1976) and The Penguin Book of Sea Stories (volumes 1 and 2). His collected plays are published as Plays for Players and he wrote extensively for radio and television, including early contributions to The Onedin Line. As a result of his passion for rugby, he wrote A Touch of Glory (1980) to mark the centenary of the Welsh Rugby Union. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University College of Swansea in 1985.
