Gweneth Lilly (24 September 1920 – 5 April 2004) was a Welsh writer and teacher who authored novels, children's and teenage books and adult books in English and Welsh. She worked as a teacher at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

and later at St. Mary's College in Bangor until she retired in 1977 to focus on writing on which she authored 13 books in her lifetime. Lilly won the

Tir na n-Og Award The Tir na n-Og Awards (abbreviated TnaO) are a set of annual children's literary awards in Wales from 1976. They are presented by the Books Council of Wales to the best books published during the preceding calendar year in each of three awards cat ...

twice in 1981 and 1982. The Bangor University Archives holds a collection of works related to the writer.

Early life

On 24 September 1920, Lilly was born to Welsh parents in the English city of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. She was the only child of parents coming from

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

; her father admired

Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

and educated her on

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

and Arthurian legends. Lilly grew up in Liverpool, and was taught at Liverpool Girls' College. She matriculated to

, where she read English. Lilly conducted a post-graduate study of

John Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...

and

Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame placed him among leading Victorian poets. His prosody – notably his concept of sprung rhythm – established him as an innovato ...

Career

She was appointed lecturer of English at the University of Liverpool, before moving to Wales with her mother in 1946 to teach the same subject at St. Mary's College in Bangor. Lilly remained at St. Mary's College where she read the works of

Leon Garfield Leon Garfield FRSL (14 July 1921 – 2 June 1996) was a British writer of fiction. He is best known for children's historical novels, though he also wrote for adults. He wrote more than thirty books and scripted '' Shakespeare: The Animated Tal ...

Alan Garner Alan Garner (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. Much of his work is rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native count ...

and

William Mayne William James Carter Mayne (16 March 1928 – 24 March 2010) was an English people, English writer of children's fiction. ''The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature'' calls him one of the outstanding children's authors of the 20th century and ...

until she retired in 1977. Following her retirement to focus on writing, she began writing in the Welsh language even though she taught English in the education system. Lilly's first novel, ''Y Drudwy Dewr'' (English: ''The Brave Starling''), was published in 1980, and is based on her studies of the tale of

Branwen Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr is a major character in the Second Branch of the ''Mabinogi'', which is sometimes called the "Mabinogi of Branwen" after her. Branwen is a daughter of Llŷr and Penarddun. She is married to Matholwch, King of Ireland, ...

Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, create ...

's second strand. In 1981, she authored the novel ''Gaeaf Y Cerrig'' (English: ''Winter Of Stones''), ''Hwyl A Helynt Calan Gaeaf'' (English: ''The Way Of The Season Of Winter'') and the supernatural work ''Hwyl A Helynt Calan Gaeaf'' (English: ''The Way Of The Season Of Winter''). Lilly won the

in the same year. Throughout the year of the 700th anniversary of

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the native Prince of Wales ( la, Princeps Wall ...

's death in 1982, she was commissioned to author the novel ''Rwy'n Cofio dy Dad'' to commemorate the occasion. Lilly went on to write the children's and teenage book ''Y Gragen A'r Drych'' (English: ''The Shell And The Mirror'') that same year. She received her second Tir na n-Og Award in 1982. In 1984 and 1987 respectively, Lilly authored ''Britain, Orpheus'' the adult book based on the Wales during the Roman era and ''Masgiau'' in English. She went on to write ''Tachwedd Tan Gwyllt'' (English: ''Wild Fire Of November'') and the English version of that book called ''Treason At Trefriw'' were both published in 1990. In 1993, Lilly wrote ''On A Scaffold High'' and the short story collection ''Dynes Mewn Du'' (English: ''A Woman In Black''). Overall, she published 13 books. Lilly was an active member of the historical area society of

Llanfairfechan Llanfairfechan ("Little Mary, Mother of God, St Mary's llan (placename), Parish") is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Conwy County Borough, Wales. It is known as a seaside resort and had a population at the United Kingdom Census 20 ...

and edited and wrote in both English and Welsh on matters of local interest. She helped the family connection to

Pen y Bryn A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity whi ...

with

Llywelyn the Great Llywelyn the Great ( cy, Llywelyn Fawr, ; full name Llywelyn mab Iorwerth; c. 117311 April 1240) was a King of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually " Prince of the Welsh" (in 1228) and "Prince of Wales" (in 1240). By a combination of war and d ...

and his family's connection to

Abergwyngregyn Abergwyngregyn () is a village and community of historical note in Gwynedd, a county and principal area in Wales. Under its historic name of Aber Garth Celyn it was the seat of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. It lies in the historic county of Caernarfo ...

close to Bangor.

Personal life

She was a

Welsh Baptist The Baptist Union of Wales (Undeb Bedyddwyr Cymru) is a fellowship of Baptist churches in Wales. History The General Baptist minister Hugh Evans was one of the first Baptists to preach in Wales around 1646, in the parishes of Llan-hir, Cefnllys, ...

all her life. Lilly was profoundly deaf in the final years of her life. On April 5, 2004, she died in Llanfairfechan.

Legacy

D Ben Rees, writing Lilly's obituary in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', described her as "one of the most gifted children's writers of her generation, and enriched Welsh literature." The Bangor University Archives holds a collection of works related to Lilly. They include her personal papers and objects related to her career and her correspondence between the media and the printing press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilly, Gweneth 1920 births 2004 deaths Writers from Liverpool Alumni of the University of Liverpool Academics of the University of Liverpool 20th-century Welsh women writers 21st-century Welsh women writers 20th-century Welsh writers 21st-century Welsh writers 20th-century Welsh educators 21st-century Welsh educators 20th-century women educators 21st-century women educators Welsh-language writers Welsh short story writers British women short story writers Welsh women academics