The Vale of the Towey or, sketches in South Wales

Anne Beale was an English novelist that lived in the area of Llandeilo, Wales for some years. ‘The Vale of the Towey or, sketches in South Wales’ is considered her most important and influential work. Beale tells the tale of an English woman who settled in Wales. The volume consists of several embryonic short stories, yet their characters, timeframe and location are the same. With that in mind, they may be considered as important milestones in the development of the English novel in Wales. The volume was later reprinted in 1849 under the title ‘Traits and Stories of the Welsh Peasantry’. Several of Beale’s novels explore the manners and customs of the Welsh people and indeed, few English authors have written more earnestly of their traditions.