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TALES FROM WELSH HILLS by Ellen Pugh

TALES FROM WELSH HILLS

By

Pub Date: Nov. 18th, 1968
Publisher: Dodd, Mead

No distinctive cadence, no fresh turn of phrase or figure of speech makes these stories peculiarly Welsh or particularly compelling, though some are cleverly plotted and many reflect traditional fatalism and deference to spirits. Characteristic is ""for the Scoffer"" whose scorn for the old customs leads to the suicide of his best friend, a true believer; similarly. ""Ruddy-My-Beard,"" the Red Goblin, is not to be shaken off once heedless Pedr has freed him. A few of the situations are familiar (the flock ""found"" in the sea, the smart girl who goes to the king ""neither dressed nor undressed""); amiable-foolishness brightens these and several others. Altogether the tales have more spirit than the telling.