A Most Peculiar People

Writers, politicians, visitors, insiders and outsiders of all kinds have tried to grasp the elusive nature of the Welsh character, that subtle creation of history, geography, language and social custom which makes the self-images of the Welsh so different from the impressions of outside observers.

In this book Meic Stephens presents a collection of more than 2,300 quotations about Wales and the Welsh, drawn from sources both native and foreign, literary and demotic, favourable and hostile. About 700 authors are represented, from Julius Caesar to Dafydd Elis Thomas, on topics ranging from landscape, language, and religion to politics, broadcasting, and the arts. Welsh nationality and nationhood are the broad topics which receive most attention.

This book, which reflects its compiler’s wide reading over some thirty years, is as entertaining as it is informative. It will serve not only as a rich source-book for the student, but also as a stimulating guide for the general reader with an interest in Welsh affairs.

But a word of warning from Trevor Fishlock: Wales, though small, cannot be tidily parcelled. Just as you think you have the picture right, somebody gives the kaleidoscope a nudge and moves the bits.’

Not only an essential reference book for Welsh people and those with Welsh blood but also a fascinating and amusing read. The chronological sequence of the quotes allows a study of changing attitudes and it will be of use to students of social history and nationalism.Writers, politicians, visitors, insiders and outsiders of all kinds have tried to grasp the elusive nature of the Welsh character, that subtle creation of history, geography, language and social custom which makes the self-images of the Welsh so different from the impressions of outside observers.

Meic Stephens is a freelance editor, journalist and consultant. Among the reference books he has compiled and edited are The Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales (1986), A Dictionary of Literary Quotations (1990), and the second edition of The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to Great Britain and Ireland (1992). He is also joint editor, for the University of Wales Press, of the Writers of Wales series.