Our meeting on Thursday was as lively as ever, and we discussed the following books by Welsh women authors.

We began by noting an apologies message from an absent friend who told us she had read the very impressive and comprehensive book on Wales by Jan Morris and titled simply, Wales. We were then told about an interesting collection of short stories, A View Across the Valley , with a closer look at two of its tales, by Ann Harriet Hughes and Sian Evans. 

Two books by the Welsh, Jewish author Bernice Rubens were described and then discussed; these were The Elected Member and The Waiting Game. Also represented by two novels was Sarah Waters with The Night Watch and The Paying Guests. 

Ruth Jones’ Love Untold had been part-read by one colleague and another who was unable to attend. Much enjoyed was a slim novel with a hint of deeper mystery, Drift by Caryl Lewis, and another with a gradually introduced supernatural element was The Inn at the Edge of the World by Alice Thomas Ellis. 

All in all we had plenty to talk about. At our next meeting (Feb 26th) we have chosen the author Freida McFadden who has written many novels, several of which have reached the “charts”, and we plan to explore why that might be. And for our single novel at the meeting on March 26th we have chosen The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal.