DYLAN THOMAS’S entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states that he considered his ‘play for voices’, Under Milk Wood, a poor relation to his poetry. Yet, with its array of characters, from Captain Cat dreaming of his lost loves to the twice-widowed, obsessively neat Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard, it is the work for which he is best known. Despite it only being first performed in the last year of his life, he had been working on an idea for a tale or play about a small Welsh seaside town since he was in his late teens.
The fictional town of Llareggub, (the ‘joke’, such as it is, lies in reading its name backwards) made its first appearance in the Surrealist story The Orchards, written in 1935, with references to ‘the reverend madmen in the Black Book of Llareggub’. Further inspiration arrived in 1938, when Thomas and his new bride, the dancer Caitlin Macnamara, moved to Laugharne on the Taf Estuary in Carmarthenshire. Clearly, he was fascinated by the inhabitants of what he called ‘the strangest town in Wales’, remarking to fellow resident and writer Richard Hughes (author of the bestseller A High Wind In Jamaica) that what the place really needed was ‘a play about well-known Laugharne characters’. His working title was The Town That Was Mad.
Denne historien er fra October 27, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra October 27, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
