I was thrilled to receive a wonderful review from Welsh
author, Gwen Madoc, for my historical romance, 'Black Diamonds'.
BLACK DIAMONDS by
Lynette Rees
In her novel BLACK
DIAMONDS Lynette Rees evokes powerfully the lives of the people of a Welsh
mining village in the South Wales Valleys in the mid nineteenth century. The
story is based on actual historical events in Merthyr Tydfil, when just before
Christmas 1865 an explosion at Gethin Pit at Abercanaid overwhelmed the entire
community with grief.
Lily Jenkin is a
young heroine with passion, fortitude and courage, who struggles with the
uncertainties of life in a mining community where the loss of loved ones from
cholera or injury and death at the pit, and the subsequent heartache and
poverty that results, are ever present possibilities.
Rees reveals the background and
atmosphere of this particular era with depth and richness. Her characters spring off the page
brimming with life. We feel strongly their grief and despair; their loves and
hates. And also their hopes, and these feelings, together with the strength and
variety of the characters, remain with the reader long after the book is read.
Rees takes the reader through the many
twists and unexpected turns of the story with skill so that the pace of the
novel never flags, creating a page-turner.
There is a great deal of warmth and
emotion in the novel which reveals the true nature of the Welsh peoples. Highly
recommended.
Reviewed by Gwen Madoc author of
NO CHILD OF MINE and
DAUGHTER OF SHAME
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