The Glyn Dwr Legacy
Carefully woven around the facts surrounding the Glyn Dwˆr Welsh rebellion early in the 15th century this novel brings to life the characters and action of that time.
In the turbulent spring of 1400, Idris the archer joins Owain Glyn Dwˆr’s retinue at Sycharth. There he soon finds himself in love with Owain’s flirtatious daughter Catrin and involved in Owain’s epic struggle to regain Welsh sovereignty from Henry IV.
Support for Owain’s rebellion grows and within a few years he commands power across Wales, is recognised by Charles V of France and gains many allies amongst dissident English lords.
Idris finds himself fighting alongside Dafydd, a burly experienced man at arms who introduces him to the brutality of battle. He also keeps a fatherly eye on Idris’s thwarted love affair with Catrin, now married to Sir Edmund Mortimer in a political match which has left Idris desolated.
Hopes of Welsh independence recede as the English rebel lords are defeated by Henry and a half-hearted French invasion fails. As the tide of war turns against Owain’s forces, Harlech Castle falls to the English and Catrin and her mother are imprisoned in London. The end of the rebellion comes when Owain and his men are defeated in their last great battle at Shrewsbury.
After years of being hunted in the Welsh hills and adamantly refusing the King’s pardon, Prince Owain and Idris set out on the long journey to the mystical ancient monument of Bryn Celli Ddu on Anglesey, where Owain makes his final bequest and Idris receives his reward.
ISBN: 9781852000981
Size: 217x140mm
Binding: hardback
Length: 300pp
About the author:
Bill Bailey
After leaving school in South Wales at fourteen, Bill Bailey worked as a steelworks laboratory assistant before joining the Royal Navy in which he served as a diver and, after gaining a commission, served in submarines.
Following his service career, he worked in various industries as a personnel manager or director and before retiring was a consultant to the then Secretary of State for the Environment.
With his first three published novels of historic Welsh interest, this and his previous book, Fortune ’s War, draw from his own experiences and knowledge of the navy as well as historical interest in the Second World War.
