Cledwyn Hughes (author)
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John Cledwyn Hughes (1920–1978), who wrote under the name Cledwyn Hughes, was an Anglo-Welsh writer of novels, children's books, and literary-topographical books about Wales. He was also a prolific short-story writer who was published in a wide range of popular and literary magazines including The New Yorker, Argosy and Woman and Home.
The Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales[1] cites The Civil Strangers[2] (Phoenix House, 1950) as his most distinguished work and notes the fineness of his topographical writing, and of his writing for children.[citation needed]
Hughes was born at Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain in Montgomeryshire,[3] and died at Arthog, Merionethshire, where he and his wife Alyna lived from 1947.[4] An archive of his papers is held at the National Library of Wales.[3]
Major works
[edit]Novels
[edit]- The Different Drummer and The Inn Closes for Christmas: two novels[5] (Pilot Press, 1947)
- Wennon[6] (Pilot Press, 1948)
- The Civil Strangers[2] (Phoenix House, 1950)
- After the Holiday[7] (Phoenix House, 1950)
- The House in the Cornfield[8] - semi-autobiographical (Werner Laurie, 1957)
Topographical writing
[edit]- A Wanderer in North Wales[9] (Phoenix House, 1949)
- The Northern Marches[10] (Robert Hale, 1953)
- Poaching down the Dee[11] (Robert Hale, 1953)
- Royal Wales (Phoenix House, 1957)
- West with the Tinkers[12] (Odham Press, 1951)
- Portrait of Snowdonia[13] (Robert Hale, 1967)
- The Batsford Colour Book of Wales (Batsford, 1975)
Children's books
[edit]- Gold and "The Moonspray"[1] (Heinemann, 1953)
- The King Who Lived on Jelly [2](Routledge and Kegan Paul,1961)
Other full-length works
[edit]- Leonard Cheshire V. C. [3](Phoenix House, 1961)
- Ponies for Children [4](Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1962)
- Making an Orchard [5](Land Books, 1961)
International and translated editions
[edit]- He Dared not Look Behind[14] (A A Wyn, 1949) – Title under which 'The Inn Closes for Christmas was published' in USA and Canada
- La Jambe de Cain[14] (Gallimard, 1963) – French edition of the above
- The King Who Lived on Jelly [6](Special Edition, Georgian House, Melbourne, Australia, 1969)
Short stories and broadcast works
[edit]Over 250 short stories are known to have been published by Cledwyn Hughes. The first recorded published story being in 1943 ('Their Secret Sorrows'[15] in the Weekly Telegraph). The manuscripts of the majority of stories are available to researchers in the National Library of Wales archives.
Stories published 1943-1949
[edit]The Confession | Selected Writing, No. 3, Nicholson and Watson 1946 |
The Housekeeper | Stories for All Moods, Pendulum Publications |
The Necessity | Moore (ed.), Modern Reading 11-12, Wells Gardner, Darton, 1945 |
The Unqualified | Aistrop & Moore (eds.), Bugle Blast: A Third Anthology From the Services, Allen & Unwin, 1945 |
Open up Them Pearly Gates | Tattoo |
The Basket | BBC Midland/Welsh Home Service, 20 Dec 1946 |
The Fifteen Shilling Marvel | Argosy, Nov 1946, |
The Heart of Mr Thomas | Our Time, December |
The Hedghog | Vaughan (ed.), Celtic Story, Pendulum, 1946 |
The Miracle | Life and Letters, March 1946 |
A Well Sung Carol | John Bull Magazine, Christmas Issue, 1947 |
Geekie's First Christmas | BBC Children's Hour, 21 December 1947, all regions |
Life After Death | Cronos' [?] Ohio State University Review |
Love Lit with Paraffin | John Bull Magazine, March? 1947 |
Pritchard's Bees | Wyatt (ed.), English Story 7th Series, Collins, 1947 |
Reece the Poles | John Bull Magazine, 15 November 1947 |
The Man who once Grew Christmas Trees | Harper's Bazaar Xmas Issue 1947 |
The Stepping Stones | Virginian Quarterly Review, June 1947 |
A Bucketful of Roses | Argosy, Oct 1948 |
An Armful of Wasps | John Bull Magazine, 26 June 1948 |
Cras and his Lucky Christmas | Lilliput Magazine, December 1948 |
Geekie's Wonderful Christmas | BBC Children's Hour, Welsh Home Service, 16 December 1948 |
How Shone the Tinker Retired | John Bull Magazine, 16 October 1948 |
Mr Pugh's Marmalade | Womans Magazine, April 1949 |
None so Blind | John Bull Magazine, 26 March 1948 |
Poaching the Ungodly Way | Strand Magazine, accepted September 1947, Published April 1948 |
Preece and his Duty | John Bull Magazine, 17 June 1948 |
Salty Jones | BBC Midland Region, 26 November 1948 |
The Best Dressed Horse | Argosy, April 1948 |
The Bright Gentleman | John Bull Magazine, 4 September 1948 |
The Christmas Acceptance | Weldons Ladies Journal, December 1948 |
The Circus | John Bull Magazine, 21 Feb 1948 |
The Leaf which Never Died | BBC Children's Hour, 14 April 1949 |
The Little Bishop | Argosy, Aug 1948 |
The New Shearer | John Bull Magazine, 17 April 1948 |
The Poachers | The Strand, 115(688), April 1948 |
The Remarkable Cider | John Bull Magazine, 16 December 1948 |
The Saint's Well | John Bull Magazine, 7 August 1948 |
The Tomato Plant | John Bull Magazine, 3 February 1949 |
Thomas at the Fair | John Bull Magazine, 18 November 1948 |
Miss Rees | |
A Little Rehearsal | John Bull Magazine, 15 April 1950 |
A Night Among the Roses | John Bull Magazine, 10 November 1949 |
A Tin Whistle at Christmas | John Bull Magazine, 23 December 1949 |
A Windmill and Twelve Cherry Trees | |
Black Maggie | Argosy, Dec 1949 |
Counting his Sundays | Weldons Ladies Journal, July 1949 |
Geekie and the Cuckoo Clock | Woman's Illustrated, [dates?] 1949 |
Geekie, Father Christmas, and the Remarkable Snowman | Womans Illustrated, 24 December 1949 |
Grower of lavender and professor of magic | English Story' edited by Woodrow Wyatt, London, Collins |
The Black Horse | Pudney (ed.), The Pick of Today's Short Stories, Odhams, n.d. |
The Carnival | John Bull Magazine, 9 September 1949 |
The Christmas Mattress | Sketch, 21 December 1949 |
The Curious Captain of the Golden Rhubarb | BBC Special Children's story for Xmas morning, |
The Extraordinary Mr Ambrose | John Bull Magazine, 30 June 1949 |
The Visitation | Argosy, Jan 1949 |
Women from Distant Places | John Bull Magazine, 4 June 1949 |
Stories published 1950-1959
[edit]A First Marvel | Weldons (accepted 11 September 1950] |
Five Good Dogs with Cold Noses | Home Magazine |
How Geekie Became a Chimney Sweep | Weldons, May 1955 |
Jenkins One Eye | John Bull Magazine, 21 January 1950 |
Miss Pugh and the Bishop | Lilliput Magazine, February 1951 |
The Atishoo Symphony Orchestra | Woman's Illustrated, [accepted 8 September 1950] |
The Lamb with the Tongue of Gold | Woman's Illustrated, March 1956 |
The Return of Meri | John Bull Magazine, 1 November 1950 |
The Seller of Sunshine and Controller of Rainbows | Home Journal, February 1956 |
The Two Musicians | John Bull Magazine, 9 September 1950 |
Towzer's Toothache | Woman's Illustrated |
All Tomorrow's Flowers | Argosy |
Emma and the Strong Man | John Bull Magazine, Summer Pie, 12 June 1952 |
Geekie and the Firework Factory | Woman's Illustrated, [published 1956?] |
Samuel Pugh's Bullfight | Lilliput Magazine, May 1951 |
The Dance | Pudney (ed.), The Pick of Today's Short Stories 3rdSeries, Odhams n.d. |
Moses and the Policeman | John Bull Magazine, 15 November 1952 |
The Old Fashioned Farm | Good Housekeeping, November 1953 |
The Ploughing Match | John Bull Magazine, 9 May 1953 |
A Wheel for a Queen | John Bull Magazine 22 April 1953 |
An Umbrella from the Sea | John Bull Magazine 10 June 1953 |
The Last Thatcher | John Bull Magazine, 28 October 1953 |
The Almond Tumblers | woman's journal, August 1956 |
The Corn Harvest | John Bull Magazine, 25 August 1954 |
The First Snow | Woman, 26 February 1955 |
The girl who wanted to dance | Brittania and Eve Magazine, October 1954 |
The Gramophone with the Green Horn | Pudney (ed.), The Pick of Today's Short Stories 5, Putnam, 1954 |
The Great Ash of Glas Coed | Argosy, June 1954 |
The Master of the Golden Game | John Bull Magazine, 5 May 1954 |
The Venerable Dog Event | Woman's Journal, August 1957 |
The White Pony | John Bull Magazine, 10 February 1954 |
Time to Visit the World | Weldons Ladies Journal, February 1954 |
How Geekie Saved Maurice the Mole | Woman and Home, September 1955 |
The Eternal Goddess | BBC Welsh Home Service, Tuesday 3, September 1957 |
The Young and the Old Victorias | John Bull Magazine, 12 November 1955 |
A Maythorn for a Monument | Brittania and Eve Magazine, February 1956 |
A Yellow Ribbon | John Bull Magazine |
The Skipper's Wife | John Bull Magazine, 11 April 1956 |
A Relic of the War | Evening Standard, 27 November 1957 |
Champion at the Golden Eagle | John Bull Magazine, 10 August 1957 |
The Mountain Main | Lilliput Magazine, November 1957 |
The Singing Football Match | John Bull Magazine, 19 January 1957 |
A Final Danger | Argosy/Woman's Journal [author's own query], |
A Punch on the Nose for London | Evening Standard, 5 November 1958 |
The Cockle Gatherer | Argosy, Sept 1958 |
The Perfect Canary | John Bull Magazine, 1 March 1958 |
A Song Before Winter | BBC Home Service, London, 18 November 1959, 10.30 pm |
Only a Green Shutter | Home (Fleetway Publications), Month? 1959 |
The Stock Car Race | Good Housekeeping, January 1961 |
The Strong Room | Suspense, October 1959 |
The Sugar Enchantress | Homes and Gardens |
Stories published 1960-1973
[edit]Johnny's Miracle | BBC, Morning Story, Wales Region, 26 February 1960 |
A Dance on the Lawn | Saturday Evening Post, June 1961? |
Jericho and the Jumble Sale | Woman's Journal, June 1961 |
The White Stranger | The Evening News, 27 July 1961 |
A Journey for a Fragment of Snow | |
Our Miss Juliet | Housewife or Woman's Realm, September 1963 |
The Answer is not the echo | |
Just a few Bees | Modern Caravan, June, 1964 |
An Emotion of the Sea | Homes and Gardens, October 1965 |
Jazz Pony | Homes and Gardens, October 1964 |
Mary will Answer the Puppet | Woman's Day, USA, December 1964 |
The Coming of the Honey | Homes and Gardens, August 1966 |
The Green Eye in the Window | Homes and Gardens, August 1965 |
The Pony with the Strong Voice | Woman's Realm, 20 March 1965 |
A Day by the Ocean | Parents' Magazine, February, 1965 |
A Talent for Devotion | Woman's Realm, 18 October 1965 |
An Occasion for Music | She Magazine, December 1965 |
A Remembrance of Innocent Days | Woman's Mirror, accepted 2 August 1966 |
A Sort of Weather from the Seasons of Love | Woman's Realm, 30 September 1967 |
A Little White Powder, as Important as Life Itself | Men Only, May 1967 |
Longing for the Glorious Years | Argosy, June 1967 |
Taking a Bird on Honeymoon | Argosy, Oct 1967 |
There's a Cow Outside | Homes and Gardens, August, 1967 |
A Universe of Roses and Dreams | ? Accepted 23 November 1968 |
The Gentle Harpist [?] | Weekend, 13 August 1969 |
The Old Strollers' Carol Party | Argosy, Jan 1969 |
The Race for the White Rose | Argosy, May 1973 |
The Yard Man | Argosy, March 1973 |
Crying Off and On for a Fortnight | Rostrum, November/December 1972 |
A Handful of Leaves | Rostrum, March 1973 |
When the World is Calling | Anglo-Welsh Review, Spring (May), 1975 |
Night of the Summer Storm | Argosy, Aug 1973 |
Broadcast works
[edit]- "Charles Macintosh"[16] - BBC Children's Hour
- "The Basket"[17]- BBC Midlands/Wales
- "The Black Horse" - BBC French Service[18]
- "Watkins and the Fairies"[7], - BBC Children's Hour[19]
- "Geekie's First Christmas"[8] - BBC Children's Hour[20]
- "Geekie's Wonderful Christmas" - BBC Children's Hour[21]
- "Pritchard's Bees"[9] - BBC, The Wednesday Story[22]
- "Salty Jones"[10] - BBC Midland Home Service and internationally[23]
- "The Leaf which Never Died" - BBC Children's Hour[24]
- "Grower of Lavender and Professor of Magic" - BBC Norwegian Service[25]
- "The Curious Captain of the Golden Rhubarb"[11] - BBC Children's Xmas Morning story[26] read by Norman Shelley)
- "November Day"[12] - Welsh Home Service[27]
- "The Church by the Sea" [13] with Donald Huston - BBC Home Service, Welsh[28]
- "Seasons in Powys"[14] - BBC Home Service Welsh[29]
- "Spring Comes to Wales" [15] with Donald Huston - BBC Home Service[30]
- "The Eternal Goddess" [16] - BBC Welsh Home Service [31]
- "Winter Estuary" [17] - BBC Welsh Home Service [32]
- "The Lamb with the Tongue of Gold" - BBC Children's Hour [33]
- "The Gramophone with the Green Horn: A story of the open road" [18] and [19] - BBC Saturday Matinee [34]
- "A Song Before Winter" [20] with Carleton Hobbs - BBC Home Service [35]
- "A School by the Rose Garden" [21] - produced by Wilbert Lloyd Roberts Welsh Home Service [36] and Home Service [37]
- "Christmas near a Green Mountain" [22] - BBC Wales Home Service [38]
- "Johnny's Miracle" - BBC Morning Story [39]
- "The Green Eye in the Window" - BBC Morning Story [40]
- "Jericho and the Jumble Sale" [23] with Dillwyn wen - BBC Morning Story [41]
- "Taking a Bird on Honeymoon" - BBC Morning Story [42]
- "The Old Strollers' Carol Party" - South African Broadcasting Corporation[43]
Critical response and legacy
[edit]Hughes's writing had an international reach and received attention in a wide range of literary and popular publications. His writing is described in contemporary reviews as poetic, showing whimsy and melancholia, or at times a darker sentiment.[44][45] The Spectator (7 February 1947) welcomed the first longer works by Hughes (The Inn Closes for Christmas and The Different Drummer) describing them as 'Two vivid short novels by a brilliant young Welshman whose short stories have already established his reputation'.[46]
References
[edit]- ^ Stephens, Meic; Academi Gymreig (1986). The Oxford companion to the literature of Wales. Internet Archive. Oxford [Oxfordshire] ; New York : Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-211586-7.
- ^ a b Hughes, Cledwyn (1949). The Civil Strangers. Phoenix House.
- ^ a b "Hughes, Cledwyn, 1920-1978". National Library of Wales. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ Connor, Bernard (2011). Mawddach Crescent, Arthog, North Wales. Place of publication not identified. p. 57. ISBN 9781447854142.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Formats and Editions of The Different Drummer and The Inn Closes for Christmas. [Two novels.]. [WorldCat.org]". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ Hughes, Cledwyn (1948). Wennon. [A novel. London. OCLC 314608409.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Hughes, Cledwyn (1950). After the Holiday. Phoenix House.
- ^ Hughes, Cledwyn (1957). The house in the cornfield. OCLC 837053104.
- ^ Mwyn, Rhys (23 April 2014). "Thoughts of Chairman Mwyn: Inspirational Welsh Books". Thoughts of Chairman Mwyn. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ Hughes, Cledwyn (1953). The Northern Marches. Hale. ISBN 978-7-80066-945-3.
- ^ Hughes, Cledwyn (July 2010). Poaching Down the Dee. LULU Press. ISBN 978-1-4455-1500-7.
- ^ Hughes, Cledwyn (1954). West with the Tinkers: A Journey Through Wales with Vagrants. Odhams Press. ISBN 978-7-250-00461-3.
- ^ Hughes, Cledwyn (1967). Portrait of Snowdonia. Hale. ISBN 978-7-110-00734-1.
- ^ a b "Formats and Editions of He dared not look behind. [WorldCat.org]". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ Weekly Telegraph, [Month?], 1943
- ^ BBC Children's Hour, Scotland. 24 July 1943
- ^ BBC Midlands/Wales, 10.30 pm 20 December 1946
- ^ 27th Sept, 1946 and repeated 15 March 1950
- ^ Friday 27 August 1947
- ^ Sunday 21 December 1947
- ^ Welsh Home Service, 16 December 1948
- ^ 31 March 1948
- ^ 22 November 1948; BBC Arabian Service, 16 March 1949; BBC Arabic Listener, 1 June 1949, BBC Light Programme, Mid-morning story, 21 September 1949
- ^ 14 April 1949
- ^ 10 October 1949
- ^ 11am 25 December 1949
- ^ Monday 8 November 1954
- ^ Mon 24 Dec 1956, 19:30 on BBC Home Service Welsh
- ^ 22 Jan 1957, 22:15
- ^ BBC Home Service, Welsh, Friday 1 March 1957
- ^ BBC Welsh Home Service, Tuesday 3, September 1957
- ^ BBC Welsh Home Service, Monday 5 January 1959
- ^ BBC Children's Hour - Wales Region, 22 January 1959, 5.20-5.30 pm
- ^ BBC Saturday Matinee, 10 January 1959
- ^ BBC Home Service, London, 18 November 1959, 10.30 pm
- ^ 9 June
- ^ 22 December 1959
- ^ BBC Wales Home Service, Seasonal programme of nostalgia and discovery, Thursday 24 December 1959
- ^ Morning Story, BBC Light Programme, 26 February 1960
- ^ BBC Morning Story, The Light Programme, 28 April 1966
- ^ BBC Morning Story, Friday 6 October 1967
- ^ BBC Morning Story, The Light Programme, 7 November 1967
- ^ South African Broadcasting Corporation, 15 September 1971
- ^ World Review. E. Hulton. 1970.
- ^ The Welsh Review. Penmark Press. 1947.
- ^ The Spectator. F.C. Westley. 1947.