Martha -- sometimes happy, sometimes sad, always complicated

 

This is a lovely pic created with AI by Steve.  So this particular lady doesn't exist, except in the mind -- but if you want to start a fan club, go ahead.......

Martha was nothing if not complicated, in the depths of despair one day and carried on a wave of optimism and joy the next.  Here she is quite young, as she might have been in the first volume of the saga.

Parrog, by Graham Hadlow

 This is a wonderful water colour painting of the Parrog (Newport) from artist Graham Hadlow.  Almost Turneresque........

Graham has greatly simplified the housing along the Parrog shore, but in doing so he represents quite closely what the scene might have looked like around 1820, when Mistress Martha was in her prime........

The rather modern boats give the game away, but it's a lovely landscape painting anyway.

By the way, Graham kindly provided the paintings for the dust jackets of my hardback books of Pembrokeshire Folk Tales, back in the day.

Every story needs a monster

 

IN PRAISE OF MONSTERS


An eerie shadowy faceless figure dressed in black from head to toe walks -- or glides -- through the pages of "Dark Angel”, volume three of the Angel Mountain saga. Who -- or what -- is this strange creature that appears intermittently, leaving no trace of his movements, even when there is snow on the ground which should show up footprints? Is The Nightwalker a human being intent on stalking or terrorising our heroine Martha and her family and friends? Or is the creature a ghost -- or a devil -- or even the Grim Reaper, come to remind Martha of her mortality and maybe of her impending demise? 

And remember this before you start to worry about authenticity -- or about me as an author making people seem silly and gullible when in any real situation they would have thought rationally and applied due scrutiny. In the Wales of the early 1800's Darwin had not yet written his "Origin of Species" and there was still a widespread belief that the Bible was TRUE in all respects.  Many people believed that ghosts and demons might indeed be out there, prowling about and sometimes visiting punishment on the wicked.  The supernatural was a part of everyday life.

In the writing of eight novels and in the portrayal of Wales as it was 200 years ago, I was always mindful that I should not fill the story with "modern people in fancy dress".

Anyway, the character of The Nightwalker is one of the most interesting of the 200 or so characters who appear in the stories. As an author, of course I have used the "creature" to symbolise the darker components of this story -- Martha's loneliness and despair, her paranoia, and her tendency towards depression. But it was also interesting to turn everything upside down towards the end of the novel, and to turn The Nighwalker into an ultimately pathetic and even tragic figure -- and the scene in which Martha is finally forced to confront this creature is one of the scenes of which I am most proud.... but I must not give too much away.........

Beauty and the Beast. The Phantom of the Opera. King Kong. Ogres, monsters and trolls. Literature is full of these terrifying figures who are demonised because they are different -- either because they are large, or ugly, or fail to conform with what we are used to seeing as beautiful or comfortable. The great film called "Monsters" comes to mind as well. All too often the monsters are themselves terrified because they have suffered from some traumatic event, or just because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Anyway, every story needs a monster……..
https://lnkd.in/eWwE6FmE

"A hymn to the human spirit....."

Delilah in the rain.......

I was reminded last night, in a message from a friend who has been re-reading the 8 novels of the saga, that we should not spend all or time flagging up the darkness and the drama of the narrative.  Supercharged action and unremitting gloom seem to be the predominant features of much modern TV drama -- and to a degree we have been sucked into the process of demonstrating that on that front the life story of Martha Morgan stands up against even the most violent TV dramas and films currently available.  But, but.......

This is what my friend said: “The narrative is filled with humour, thought provoking challenges, beauty and inspiration. It really is a soaring hymn to the human spirit…."  

We must remember that whatever characteristics Martha has, she is also resilient, irrepressible, compassionate, easily moved to both tears and laughter. Whatever happens to her, no matter how serious her injuries may be and how dark her moods may be, she always -- eventually -- comes up smiling.  I suppose that is what endears her to her readers.  

As the story came to me, it is full of humour, partly derived from Martha's dry wit and lack of respect for authority, but also derives from the situations in which she finds herself.  In each of the 8 volumes there are episodes that were great fun to write, and which have acted as counterpoints to the episodes filled with pain and tragedy.  Unconsciously, I suppose that as a writer I have been influenced by the titans of the theatre.  Shakespeare, of course, famously had ridiculous characters scattered through all of his plays, and many of the most dramatic scenes in the history of stage drama are followed by episodes of levity, involving clowns and fools who knowingly or unknowingly say and do hilarious things.

Somebody said that the novels of the saga are Shakespearean in their emotional scope ---and that's one of the compliments that has meant a great deal to me.

So yes, there is love, beauty, tenderness and laughter in the stories, and we should not forget to advertise the fact.  My favourite comedy characters from the series?  Well, the ever-pompous Rector Devonald, then Wilmot Gwynne and his voluptuous wife Delilah, then Beau Brummell, then Sergeant Dafydd Gruffydd in Chapter 6 of "Guardian Angel" who says everything at least twice, using slightly different combinations of words.......... and so on and so on.

But the best clowns and fools, in the grand literary tradition, are given license to speak truth to power, and to have insights into the depths of the human soul.  And so it is with all of the colourful characters who say and do apparently foolish things in the pages of the novels.  So yes, please laugh if you like, but also dig deeper.........

See also:

https://brian-angelmountain.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-role-of-humour-in-serious-fiction.html

The dastardly villains.......

Moses Lloyd

 

Alban Watkins

George Howell

Benjamin Rice

Now we are on Instagram

Thanks to Steve, we now have a brilliant presence on Instagram. Look for "Angelmountainsaga" and thou shalt find. Hope you approve -- please like and follow!

https://www.instagram.com/angelmountainsaga/?hl=en

We are trying to capture the dark and gritty nature of the drama as it is now adapted for TV.  There are various tweaks to the storyline with a view to enhancing the dramatic intensity  -- we hope that some of the fans who know the story inside out won't get too upset!!

More pics from Martha Morgan Country

 

Some great images found on Facebook.  There are some very good photographers out there........