The book takes a literary-historical approach to its subject which opens up new perspectives on the history of peace and pacifism in Wales which historical approaches alone have overlooked. It includes English- and Welsh-language texts and highlights the interdependence of English and Welsh culture in Wales. Quotations from Welsh-language texts are given in Welsh and in English translation to assist readers who are not Welsh speakers. The reader is introduced to the changing nature of pacifism, peace and anti-warism and how these terms have acquired different meanings over time. The historical narrative is designed to make this scholarship more accessible to the reader who is not a specialist in peace studies. The arguments of the book are illustrated and developed in accessible but original readings of key Welsh writers on peace and pacifism.

• This is the first study of the representation of animals and animality in Welsh literature. It introduces the reader to key ideas and concepts from the new and fast-growing field of animal studies, and suggests how Welsh rural and urban history might be redrawn from the perspective of animals and their agenda. • It provides new and exciting insights into a range of Welsh writings about animals, and examines how Welsh literature explores ways of thinking about intelligence, sensibilities and knowledge from an animal perspective. • The book introduces readers to the concept of a relational universe in which all life is bound together through a network of relations and connections and illustrates its importance to animal studies and Welsh writing.

This is the first comparative study of the distinctive literatures and cultures that have developed in Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland since political devolution in the late 1990s, especially surrounding Brexit. The book argues that in conceptualising their cultures as 'national', each nation is caught up in a creative tension between emulating forms of cultural production found in the others to assert common aspirations, and downplaying those connections in order to forge a sense of cultural distinctiveness. The author explores the resulting dilemmas, with chapters analysing the growth of the creative industries; the relationship between UK City of Culture and its forerunner, the European Capital of Culture; national book prizes in Britain and Europe; British variations on Nordic Noir TV; and the Brexit novel. With regard to separate cultural precursors and responses in each nation, Brexit itself is debated as a factor that has widened their differences, placing the future of the UK in question.

This book is the only extended study of John Ormond’s poetry and films. It is a contribution to the history of BBC television. It is a contribution to the history of the documentary film form, particularly in a national context. It is a contribution to the cultural history of Wales. It is a case study in inter-artistic creative practice.

The Brexit debates confirmed how Wales’s relationship to Europe has for too long been discussed exclusively, narrowly and suffocatingly in terms of its social, political and economic aspects. As a contrast, this volume sets out to explore the rich, inventive and exhilarating spectrum of pro-European sentiment evident from 1848 to 1980 in the writings of Welsh intellectuals and creative writers. It ranges from the era of O. M. Edwards, through the interwar period when both right wing (Saunders Lewis) and left wing (Cyril Cule) ideologies clashed, to the post-war age when major writers such as Emyr Humphreys and Raymond Williams became influential. This study clearly demonstrates that far from being insular and parochial, Welsh culture has long been hospitably internationalist. As the very title Eutopia concedes, there have of course been frequently utopian aspects to Wales’s dreams of Europe. However, while some may choose to dismiss them as examples of mere wishful thinking, others may fruitfully appreciate their aspirational and inspirational aspects.

This is the first book to critically examine the professional work of the pioneer of open-air museums in Britain and the self-proclaimed founder of the Welsh Folk Museum at St. Fagans, and a major figure in Welsh cultural life. This book places Peate’s life in the context of Welsh history and assesses his impact on helping to create a particular view of Welsh culture, placing great emphasis on the importance of the Welsh-speaking rural craftsman and ignoring the contribution of industry to Welsh life. It makes extensive use of quotation, synopsis and translation, for the first time giving non-Welsh speakers access to his Welsh-language publications about museums and folk life.

This work presents a series of studies that examine the impact of democracy and the growth of the idea of nationhood in the making of modern Wales. The author explains key aspects of the making of modern Wales in the 19th and 20th centuries. He discusses topics that include political issues from the age of Lloyd George to that of Nye Bevan, a variety of localities, both rural and industrial, and the major political personalities of the period. The book also covers the dominance of the Liberal Party to the World War I, the ascendancy of Labour from the 1920s to the 1990s, and the revived form of nationalism in recent times.

In Britain, Wales has gained a reputation as a nation wedded to pacifism, but this view ignores the long history of Welsh involvement in armed conflict. The essays assembled in Wales and War examine the reactions of Welsh people to a series of conflicts from the Napoleonic Wars to the conflict in the Falklands. The impact of Britain's imperial economy on Welsh support for and participation in war, as well as the role played by geography, are among the range of illuminating topics considered in this collection. Featuring work from a new generation of historians, Wales and War is an innovative addition to our understanding of British history.