Rhys Davies

de Meic Stephens

The first full biography of this important Welsh prose writer, in both the short story and novel form. Drawing on hitherto unavailable sources, including many conversations with the author's brother, it provides a perspective in which his very real achievements can be more easily appreciated. Rhys Davies (1901-78) was among the most dedicated, prolific and accomplished of Welsh prose writers. This is his first full biography, describing the early years of the Blaenclydach grocer s son, his abhorrence of chapel culture , his bohemian years in Fitzrovia, his visit to the Lawrences in the south of France, his unremitting work ethic, his patrons, his admiration for the French and Russian writers who were his models, his love-hate relationship with the Rhondda, and above all, the dissembling that went into Print of a Hare s Foot (1969), an autobiographical beginning , which proves to be a most unreliable book from start to finish --