Here we continue to discuss Gwilym Hiraethog in this episode, looking in detail at a milestone book which he published in 1853, Aelwyd Fy Ewythr Robert neu Hanes Caban F’Ewythr Tomos (‘Uncle Robert’s Hearth or the Story of Uncle Tom’s Cabin’).
Some eight Welsh translations of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s influential antislavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, would appear by the middle of the 1850s, but Gwilym Hiraethog’s volume is by far the most interesting in terms of literary quality, ambition and creativity. In addition to translating the English fiction to Welsh, the writer from Llansannan created an original Welsh fictional context in order to present the American story to readers in Wales. It’s fiction about fiction – proper metafiction – which contains pointed comments about the difficult relationship between some Welsh readers and the form of the novel. We wonder as we consider the way in which some Welsh Nonconformists opposed reading novels and note that Aelwyd F’Ewythr Robert thus helped carve out a foothold for that literary form in Wales. And for the first time in the history of this podcast, we try to discuss a picture in detail!
Presented by: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a’r Athro Richard Wyn Jones
Produced by: Richard Martin ar gyfer Mimosa Cymru
Music: ‘Might Have Done’ gan The Molenes
Darllen Pellach/Further Reading:
- You can read Aelwyd F’Ewythr Robert on The National Library of Wales website
- Gareth Evans-Jones, Mae’r Beibl o’n tu: ymatebion crefyddol y Cymry yn America i gaethwasiaeth (1838-1868) (2022).
- Jerry Hunter, ‘The Pilgrim and the Hearth in the Welsh Reception of Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progess’, yn Angelica Duran a Katherine Callowy (goln.), Global Bunyan and Visual Art (2025).
- Jerry Hunter, I Ddeffro Ysbryd y Wlad: Robert Everett a’r Ymgyrch yn Erbyn Caethwasanaeth Americanaidd (2007).