The Valley is the first novel by Barry Pilton

Barry Pilton

Barry Pilton is a travel writer, radio and television comedy scriptwriter and novelist. He was educated in Dulwich College and King's College London. In 1967-8 he taught English in Paris and from 1969 worked as a journalist on the Sunday Post, becoming a freelance writer in 1976...

, published in 2005 by Bloomsbury. It is a humorous account of the effect of outsiders on the rural status quo in a fictional mid-Wales valley during the 1980s and is being adapted for television.

Plot introduction

Those living in the insular Nant Valley believe they are immune to the changes going on in the outside world. However, outsiders have discovered the rural idyll and are moving in to enjoy its benefits. Dafydd, the ubiquitous postman, is uncertain the Valley is ready for newcomers. The mysterious Stefan buys a derelict manor house and tries to become a squire - but finds his money impresses no-one and can't even get a drink in the pub as Gwillim the landlord hates all customers. Jane and Rob, artistic but impoverished urbanites, want to live The Good Life, but their passion for alfresco nudity has tragic repercussions for the farming community. Gradually the fabric of rural life comes undone as local and outsider collide with dramatic results...

External links

• An everyday story of country folk - icWales
• www.amazon.co.uk