Gwyn Thomas was born, the last of twelve children, into aRhondda mining family in 1913. After a childhood markedby the strikes of the 1920s, he went off to study Spanish atOxford University and in Madrid, where he met the poetFederico Garcia Lorca and witnessed the turmoil whichwould lead to the Spanish Civil War. On his return, amidstthe economic mire of the 1930s and his own burgeoningteaching career in Barry in the 1940s, he picked up his penand began to write. For more than forty years, until his deathin 1981, as novelist, screenwriter, master of the short story,and prizewinning playwright, Gwyn Thomas deliveredcompelling and comedic portraits of his world of SouthWales. His creative genius earned enduring fame on bothsides of the Atlantic and on both sides of the European ColdWar divide. As a provocative and insightful broadcaster, heembraced the possibilities of radio and television, whilstleaving his hosts and guests alike in fits of knowing laughter.This landmark biography, enriched with unrivalled access toprivate papers and international archives, tells the remarkablestory of one of modern Wales's greatest literary voices.
