Library of Wales: Withered Root, The

Rhys Davies was born in 1901 and died in 1978. One of the most prolific Welsh prose writers of the 20th century, Davies is best known for his short stories, of which he wrote over a hundred. He also wrote eighteen novels and a successful play as well as several works of non-fiction. Davies was awarded an OBE in 1968, as well as the Welsh Arts Council Prize in 1971. After his death, the Rhys Davies Trust was established in 1990 to promote Welsh authors writing in the English language.

The Withered Root recounts the troubled life of Reuben Daniels, reared in a South Wales industrial valley, in the bosom of the Nonconformist culture. Therein lies his downfall and that of his people, for The Withered Root is as thoroughly opposed to welsh Nonconformity as My People (Caradoc Evans), though for different reasons. Revivalist passions constitute nothing but a perverse outlet for an all too human sexuality which chapel culture has otherwise repressed. Nonconformity has withered the root of natural sexual well-being in the Welsh, and then feeds off the twisted fruits.The Revival is led by a young charismatic Welsh speaking collier preacher Reuben Daniel. He is a young man full of life and its desires but still unsure of its meaning. A man absorbed – driven – to expound the gospel, seek out the devil, wherever that or who may be from the land in a pilgrimage of conversion. He progresses from village pulpit at the head of a small band of followers called The Corinthians to Valley's saviour and beyond in a few hectic months of sermons, pilgrimage and passion.But in the new world of salvation there is conflict between the physical and the spiritual as Reuben's odyssey becomes a test for this mind, body and soul. Quote"Rhys Davies's characters all walk straight out of the page and hold one with an almost physical attraction." The Times