Discover real Gower in fiction
Our visitors to Bayview often ask us what we can recommend to enhance their holiday experience in Gower. They are especially interested in the authentic experiences Gower can offer: whether it’s a steer to some of the best restaurants for a true taste of Gower’s food and drink, or walks that introduce them to Gower’s less trodden and hidden paths. Anything and everything that gives an added layer over and above the sandy beaches and natural beauty of the landscape Gower is usually known for.
When we’ve gone on holiday anywhere, we do the same. A question we sometimes ask our hosts is ‘what books can you recommend about the area that can give us a real feel for the place?’
So from this month we’re pointing our guests in the direction of two books by Gower author Jane Fraser, which we think give a flavour of ‘real’ Gower in fiction.
If you’re a fan of historical fiction then Advent, published by Hono, is for you. Set in 1904, it tells the story of twenty-one-year-old Ellen’s urgent call home to the family farm in the north Gower village of Llanrhidian after two years of a new life on America’s eastern seaboard. She finds her family in disarray and sets out to re-establish order. The novel reveals the Gower that once was with all its rural poverty, growing industrialisation and the story unfolds over six months against the background of the inferno of the Welsh Religious Revival and a former love interest.
For short fiction lovers, we think you’d enjoy The South Westerlies, published by Salt, a collection of eighteen short stories linked by Gower’s physical location and the tone of its prevailing wind that gives the book its title. The stories tell of those who are drawn to the peninsula by its beauty and those who can’t wait to leave. These are stories about those who question their roles as farmers, those who are left in out-of-season villages when their friends have left for university, and those involved in feuds and factionalism. There are tales of envy and revenge, love and loss, and the folklore and myth of Gower.
Both books enable the reader to get up close to Gower between their covers and perhaps will act as catalysts to go and visit the places highlighted in the texts while you holiday in Gower. Books are available for purchase at reception here at Bayview, Oxwich, if you’re staying with us. If you’re not we’re sure you’ll be tempted to by reading the books available at:
Advent
Cover to Cover | Honno | Griffin Books | Amazon | Waterstones
The South Westerlies
Salt | Cover to Cover | Griffin Books | Amazon | Waterstones
Please contact Wanda or Michael to discuss which of our holiday rental properties is for you.