Alexander Cordell was born into a military family in Ceylon and spent much of his youth in the Far East. He worked his way up through the ranks of the British Army to become a major. To many, he must have seemed the quintessential Englishman, and yet his natural sympathies lay increasingly in Wales, where he came to be adored by the reading public. Indeed, his bestselling novels made Wales known throughout the world. His socialist views were also reflected in the subject matter of the more than twenty books that he wrote. Many of his novels are about Wales and include the immensely popular
Rape of the Fair Country
,
The Hosts of Rebecca
and
Song of the Earth
. These are novels which relate evocative tales against the backdrop of early industrial Wales and which succeed both in engaging readers emotionally and in increasing their awareness of the past.
This is the first biography of Alexander Cordell. It is written with energy and imagination by Mike Buckingham and Richard Frame, both of whom were close friends of Cordell. The book is based on Cordell's personal papers and on records of conversation with him. It offers a unique opportunity to look into the life of the man behind the books.