On The Black Hill
Encyclopedia
On the Black Hill is a novel
by Bruce Chatwin
published in 1982 and winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize
for that year. In 1987 it was made into a film
, directed by Andrew Grieve.
, in England
, and either Brecknockshire
, or Radnorshire
, in Wales
(there are Black Hills near both). In the early pages we are told the border runs through the very farmhouse:
The story is told through the technique of flashback, and portrays the lives of twin brothers, Lewis and Benjamin Jones, on their isolated upland farm called The Vision. The twins develop a bond that is shown throughout the novel as very special. Lewis is portrayed as the stronger or dominant twin, whereas Benjamin is the more intuitive one, both in appearance and in the tasks which he does around the house. He seems to be constantly drawn to his mother's side while she is alive.
Lewis is the one who wants to break free but Benjamin is forced into the army at the time of the Great War. His efforts are frustrated by his family ties and the indefinable, unbreakable tie to the land. Chatwin also tells the reader of the brutality involved in farming at the time in this area. Amos, the father of the two twins, shows how his day-to-day job has brutalised his once caring and loving attitude, and we see this later in the novel when he hits his wife Mary on the temple with the book she is reading - Wuthering Heights
. A jealous man, Amos attacks his wife with the very material that shows her intelligence; he feels threatened by this, feeling that the man is supposed to be the head of the family in all things, and he feels anger because of his limited education.
On the Black Hill is a novel which portrays themes such as unrequited love, sexual repression and confusion, social, religious and cultural repression, hate and the historic social values of that era, as is shown when Amos finds out that his daughter Rebecca has become pregnant by an Irishman. His religious fanaticism, social pressure, economic forces and an inability to express love results in him throwing her out of the household, and she is not mentioned in the novel again until the latter part.
The location is lightly fictionalised. Many real place names are used, the great majority indicating a site on the border of Herefordshire
and Breconshire south of Hay on Wye. The Herefordshire Black Hill
and Cefn Hill are outliers of the Black Mountains
; Brecknockshire
was west of the easternmost ridge of the Black Mountains to the west. Hay-on-Wye
(with its castle and pre-war railway station) would be the principal town in the area but its name is notable by its absence; instead, it seems the name of the Radnorshire
hamlet of Rhulen has been used. The name of the Shropshire
location of Lurkenhope has been used for the principal village. Talgarth
, although not mentioned in the film, is another small nearby town, which would have been of greater importance to the area at the time.
On the Ordnance Survey map, 'Abergavenny
and the Black Mountains, Wales
sheet 161' (1:50,000 series) and even better depicted on the more detailed 1:25,000 series at the Black Hill itself is shown, towards Craswall. The name refers to a well known ridge descending very steeply from the very long Hatterall Ridge
(which forms the England / Wales border) and carries Offas Dyke footpath on it, down into the fields of Herefordshire, and on the English side. The Black Hill is known locally as 'The Cat's Back' as viewed from Herefordshire it looks like a crouching cat about to pounce. On the same map at , just a little to the south, you will be able to see a real farm called The Vision Farm, situated in the Llanthony valley, also known as the Vale of Ewyas
, on the Welsh side of the border, just below Capel-y-ffin
.
Alternatively, the location that inspired the novel could be the Black Hill between Knighton
and Clun
and a few miles from Lurkenhope. Chatwin stayed nearby in Cwm Hall, Purslow
with friends during the 1970s and was confidently cited as such in a BBC programme by his biographer.
Chatwin amalgamated reality with his research amongst the local indigenous populace in the time he researched the book, interweaving fact and fiction, gossip, locations, stories and social history.
and Whitbread First Novel of the Year Award
(which raises a question over the status of the earlier book The Viceroy of Ouidah
).
in 1987.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Bruce Chatwin
Bruce Chatwin
Charles Bruce Chatwin was an English novelist and travel writer. He won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel On the Black Hill...
published in 1982 and winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize
James Tait Black Memorial Prize
Founded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
for that year. In 1987 it was made into a film
On the Black Hill (film)
On the Black Hill is a 1987 film directed by Andrew Grieve and based upon the novel of the same name by Bruce Chatwin.Although Bruce Chatwin initially considered his novel about 80 years of rural family life in the Welsh border country unfilmable, he changed his mind when he saw how keen director...
, directed by Andrew Grieve.
Plot summary
The novel's setting is the border of HerefordshireHerefordshire
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...
, in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and either Brecknockshire
Brecknockshire
Brecknockshire , also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, and a former administrative county.-Geography:...
, or Radnorshire
Radnorshire
Radnorshire is one of thirteen historic and former administrative counties of Wales. It is represented by the Radnorshire area of Powys, which according to the 2001 census, had a population of 24,805...
, in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
(there are Black Hills near both). In the early pages we are told the border runs through the very farmhouse:
Culturally the central characters are Welshmen, with the surname Jones.
One of the windows looked out over the green fields of England: the other looked back into Wales...
The story is told through the technique of flashback, and portrays the lives of twin brothers, Lewis and Benjamin Jones, on their isolated upland farm called The Vision. The twins develop a bond that is shown throughout the novel as very special. Lewis is portrayed as the stronger or dominant twin, whereas Benjamin is the more intuitive one, both in appearance and in the tasks which he does around the house. He seems to be constantly drawn to his mother's side while she is alive.
Lewis is the one who wants to break free but Benjamin is forced into the army at the time of the Great War. His efforts are frustrated by his family ties and the indefinable, unbreakable tie to the land. Chatwin also tells the reader of the brutality involved in farming at the time in this area. Amos, the father of the two twins, shows how his day-to-day job has brutalised his once caring and loving attitude, and we see this later in the novel when he hits his wife Mary on the temple with the book she is reading - Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights is a novel by Emily Brontë published in 1847. It was her only novel and written between December 1845 and July 1846. It remained unpublished until July 1847 and was not printed until December after the success of her sister Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre...
. A jealous man, Amos attacks his wife with the very material that shows her intelligence; he feels threatened by this, feeling that the man is supposed to be the head of the family in all things, and he feels anger because of his limited education.
On the Black Hill is a novel which portrays themes such as unrequited love, sexual repression and confusion, social, religious and cultural repression, hate and the historic social values of that era, as is shown when Amos finds out that his daughter Rebecca has become pregnant by an Irishman. His religious fanaticism, social pressure, economic forces and an inability to express love results in him throwing her out of the household, and she is not mentioned in the novel again until the latter part.
Location
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...
and Breconshire south of Hay on Wye. The Herefordshire Black Hill
Black Hill (Herefordshire)
The Black Hill is a hill in the Black Mountains in Herefordshire, England at . It rises just west of the village of Craswall, near the border with Wales....
and Cefn Hill are outliers of the Black Mountains
Black Mountains, Wales
The Black Mountains are a group of hills spread across parts of Powys and Monmouthshire in southeast Wales, and extending across the national border into Herefordshire, England. They are the easternmost of the four ranges of hills that comprise the Brecon Beacons National Park, and are frequently...
; Brecknockshire
Brecknockshire
Brecknockshire , also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, and a former administrative county.-Geography:...
was west of the easternmost ridge of the Black Mountains to the west. Hay-on-Wye
Hay-on-Wye
Hay-on-Wye , often described as "the town of books", is a small market town and community in Powys, Wales.-Location:The town lies on the east bank of the River Wye and is within the Brecon Beacons National Park, just north of the Black Mountains...
(with its castle and pre-war railway station) would be the principal town in the area but its name is notable by its absence; instead, it seems the name of the Radnorshire
Radnorshire
Radnorshire is one of thirteen historic and former administrative counties of Wales. It is represented by the Radnorshire area of Powys, which according to the 2001 census, had a population of 24,805...
hamlet of Rhulen has been used. The name of the Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
location of Lurkenhope has been used for the principal village. Talgarth
Talgarth
Talgarth is a small market town and community in southern Powys , Mid Wales, with a population of 1,645. Notable buildings in the town include its 14th-century parish church and 13th century Pele Tower, located in the town centre, now home to the Tourist Information and Resource Centre...
, although not mentioned in the film, is another small nearby town, which would have been of greater importance to the area at the time.
On the Ordnance Survey map, 'Abergavenny
Abergavenny
Abergavenny , meaning Mouth of the River Gavenny, is a market town in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located 15 miles west of Monmouth on the A40 and A465 roads, 6 miles from the English border. Originally the site of a Roman fort, Gobannium, it became a medieval walled town within the Welsh Marches...
and the Black Mountains, Wales
Black Mountains, Wales
The Black Mountains are a group of hills spread across parts of Powys and Monmouthshire in southeast Wales, and extending across the national border into Herefordshire, England. They are the easternmost of the four ranges of hills that comprise the Brecon Beacons National Park, and are frequently...
sheet 161' (1:50,000 series) and even better depicted on the more detailed 1:25,000 series at the Black Hill itself is shown, towards Craswall. The name refers to a well known ridge descending very steeply from the very long Hatterall Ridge
Hatterall Ridge
The Hatterrall Ridge is a ridge in the Black Mountains forming the border between Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales and Herefordshire in England. The ridge is about long, and is followed by the Offa's Dyke Path. On the west side of the ridge is the Vale of Ewyas, and on the east side is the...
(which forms the England / Wales border) and carries Offas Dyke footpath on it, down into the fields of Herefordshire, and on the English side. The Black Hill is known locally as 'The Cat's Back' as viewed from Herefordshire it looks like a crouching cat about to pounce. On the same map at , just a little to the south, you will be able to see a real farm called The Vision Farm, situated in the Llanthony valley, also known as the Vale of Ewyas
Vale of Ewyas
The Vale of Ewyas is the steeply-sided and secluded valley of the Afon Honddu, in the Black Mountains of south Wales and within the Brecon Beacons National Park. As well as its outstanding beauty, it is known for the ruins of Llanthony Priory, and for several noteworthy churches such as those at...
, on the Welsh side of the border, just below Capel-y-ffin
Capel-y-ffin
Capel-y-ffin is a hamlet near the English-Welsh border in Powys, Wales, in the Black Mountains within the Brecon Beacons National Park. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye, some to the north-west.-The Chapel:...
.
Alternatively, the location that inspired the novel could be the Black Hill between Knighton
Knighton
Knighton may mean:* Knighton, Powys a market town on the English/Welsh border**Knighton railway station serving the above town**Knighton Town F.C., its football club* Knighton, Leicestershire, a suburb of Leicester, England* In Staffordshire:...
and Clun
Clun
Clun is a small town in Shropshire, England. The town is located entirely in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The 2001 census recorded 642 people living in the town...
and a few miles from Lurkenhope. Chatwin stayed nearby in Cwm Hall, Purslow
Purslow
Purslow is a hamlet in Shropshire, England, on the B4368 between the towns of Clun and Craven Arms.Purslow was originally a hundred and there is a pub in the village called the "Hundred House". There is also a manor house which has existed in some form since the twelfth century. It is believed the...
with friends during the 1970s and was confidently cited as such in a BBC programme by his biographer.
Chatwin amalgamated reality with his research amongst the local indigenous populace in the time he researched the book, interweaving fact and fiction, gossip, locations, stories and social history.
Prizes
The book was awarded the 1982 James Tait Black Memorial PrizeJames Tait Black Memorial Prize
Founded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
and Whitbread First Novel of the Year Award
1982 Whitbread Awards
-References:*...
(which raises a question over the status of the earlier book The Viceroy of Ouidah
The Viceroy of Ouidah
-Summary:Chatwin's novel, detailing the life of a slave trader named Francisco Manuel da Silva, is loosely based on the life of an historical Brazilian, Francisco Felix de Sousa, who became a powerful personage in Wydah or Ouidah, the so-called Slave Coast of West Africa, now Benin and Togo...
).
Adaptation
On The Black Hill was adapted for the stage in 1986 and into a filmOn the Black Hill (film)
On the Black Hill is a 1987 film directed by Andrew Grieve and based upon the novel of the same name by Bruce Chatwin.Although Bruce Chatwin initially considered his novel about 80 years of rural family life in the Welsh border country unfilmable, he changed his mind when he saw how keen director...
in 1987.