Margiad Evans
Encyclopedia
Margiad Evans was the pseudonym of Peggy Eileen Whistler (17 March 1909 – 17 March 1958), a poet, novelist and illustrator with a lifelong identification with the Welsh border country
.
, Middlesex
, the daughter of Godfrey James Whistler (1866-1936), an insurance clerk. Her affection for the Herefordshire
countryside grew from visits she began to pay in 1918 to an aunt in Ross-on-Wye
. The family moved to nearby Bridstow in 1921. She was educated in Ross and at Hereford School of Art.
She took her pen-name from her father's mother, whose name was Evans. Her two most famous works are Country Dance (1932) and her Autobiography (1943, 2nd e., 1952). Country Dance (serialized on BBC radio in 2006) was followed by three further novels, The Wooden Doctor (1933), Turf or Stone (1934), and Creed (1936), all set in the countryside of her home district. Some of her books were self-illustrated.
Whistler married a Welshman, George Michael Mendus Williams, on 28 October 1940, and they went to live on a farm at Llangarron, near Ross, where her husband worked. There a fifth novel was abandoned in favour of her autobiography. She also published Poems from Obscurity (1947) and a volume of stories, The Old and the Young (1948), written while her husband was serving in the army. They moved in 1950 to Elkstone
near Gloucester
, where her husband was training to be a teacher. Peggy Williams' discovery that she was epileptic led to another autobiographical account, A Ray of Darkness (1952).
The couple moved in 1953 with their daughter Cassandra (born 1951) to Hartfield
in Sussex
, where her husband began teaching. However, Peggy Williams' health declined and she suffered from homesickness for the Welsh marches. The Nightingale Silenced (1954) is a moving account of her life after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour. A second volume of poetry, A Candle Ahead (1956), won a prize from the Welsh committee of the Arts Council a few weeks before she died on 17 March 1958 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent
.
Interest in Margiad Evans' work has revived, especially in Wales. There were new editions of The Old and the Young in 1998 and of Country Dance and The Wooden Doctor in 2005, and Turf or Stone in 2010. A centenary conference took place in Aberystwyth
in 2009.
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
.
Life and works
Peggy Whistler was born in UxbridgeUxbridge
Uxbridge is a large town located in north west London, England and is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It forms part of the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is located west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, the daughter of Godfrey James Whistler (1866-1936), an insurance clerk. Her affection for the Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
countryside grew from visits she began to pay in 1918 to an aunt in Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye is a small market town with a population of 10,089 in southeastern Herefordshire, England, located on the River Wye, and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean.-History:...
. The family moved to nearby Bridstow in 1921. She was educated in Ross and at Hereford School of Art.
She took her pen-name from her father's mother, whose name was Evans. Her two most famous works are Country Dance (1932) and her Autobiography (1943, 2nd e., 1952). Country Dance (serialized on BBC radio in 2006) was followed by three further novels, The Wooden Doctor (1933), Turf or Stone (1934), and Creed (1936), all set in the countryside of her home district. Some of her books were self-illustrated.
Whistler married a Welshman, George Michael Mendus Williams, on 28 October 1940, and they went to live on a farm at Llangarron, near Ross, where her husband worked. There a fifth novel was abandoned in favour of her autobiography. She also published Poems from Obscurity (1947) and a volume of stories, The Old and the Young (1948), written while her husband was serving in the army. They moved in 1950 to Elkstone
Elkstone
Elkstone is a village and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, the parish had a population of 203...
near Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
, where her husband was training to be a teacher. Peggy Williams' discovery that she was epileptic led to another autobiographical account, A Ray of Darkness (1952).
The couple moved in 1953 with their daughter Cassandra (born 1951) to Hartfield
Hartfield
Hartfield is a civil parish in East Sussex, England. Settlements within the parish include the village of Hartfield, Colemans Hatch, Hammerwood and Holtye, all lying on the northern edge of Ashdown Forest.-Geography:...
in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, where her husband began teaching. However, Peggy Williams' health declined and she suffered from homesickness for the Welsh marches. The Nightingale Silenced (1954) is a moving account of her life after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour. A second volume of poetry, A Candle Ahead (1956), won a prize from the Welsh committee of the Arts Council a few weeks before she died on 17 March 1958 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
.
Interest in Margiad Evans' work has revived, especially in Wales. There were new editions of The Old and the Young in 1998 and of Country Dance and The Wooden Doctor in 2005, and Turf or Stone in 2010. A centenary conference took place in Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
in 2009.
Further reading
- Moira Dearnley: Margiad Evans (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1982) ISBN 0-7083-0820-1
- I. Parry, 'Margiad Evans', in Speak Silence Essays (1988)
- Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan: Margiad Evans (Bridgend: Seren, 1998) ISBN 1-85411-220-1