Feet in Chains

Spanning a 40-year period ending during the First World War, Feet in Chains is a compelling saga of family life in the slate quarries of north Wales, a novel which ranks alongside How Green Was My Valley in the canon of Welsh literature. On their small holding Jane and Ifan Gruffydd struggle to raise a family, wresting a sparse living from the thin soil and hard rock of the mountain. This is a time of depression and upheaval, subtly delineated by Roberts's skilful and sensitive characterisation. The inhabitants of this world are prone to all-too-human failings: vanity, social climbing, avarice and religion's hypocrisies. Yet virtues also exist: stoicism, dignity, thrift and, above all, compassion.