''Y Stafell Ddirgel'' (in English, ''The Secret Room'') is a novel by Marion Eames written in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...

and first published in 1969. An English translation was published in 1975 under the title ''The Secret Room''. In 2001 a highly successful television adaptation appeared on S4C. The novel is concerned with the persecution of Quakers in North Wales during the seventeenth century.BBC North West Wales History: The Quakers of Dolgellau, 17 January 2008. Accessed 9 January 2013
/ref> A sequel by Eames, ''Y Rhandir Mwyn (The Gentle Region)'' (1990), continues the story.

Plot summary

The story is set in the reign of King Charles II of England and follows the experiences of Quaker leader

Rowland Ellis Rowland Ellis (1650 – September 1731) was a Welsh Quaker leader. He was the owner of the farm of Bryn Mawr near Dolgellau. He became a Quaker, along with a number of other inhabitants of Dolgellau, after a visit to the town by George Fox i ...

who founded a Welsh colony in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

after being forced to leave Wales because of religious persecution. Rowland Ellis becomes a Quaker as a result of the influence of a neighbour, but his wife does not share his religious beliefs. Following her death, he marries a sympathetic cousin. He is betrayed to the authorities by a servant he has dismissed, who describes a "secret room" he claims to have seen in the house, containing objects of Catholic worship. However, this is not the main reason why the novel is named "The Secret Room", as it also refers to the secret room within one's heart where the inner light is found. Ellis and his fellow Quakers are imprisoned and illegally condemned to death, but are released following the direct intervention of the king. Nevertheless, they decide to leave Wales for a better life in America.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Room, The 1969 British novels Welsh-language novels Historical novels Novels set in the American colonial era Novels set in Pennsylvania