Review
The familiar, unrefined ore: a turn-of-the-century South Wales copper-mining-village romance - complete with cottage lass, handsome mine-owner, one-shot pregnancies, upper-class scandal, and the capping mine explosion. Pretty Mali Llewelyn and her mine-worker father Davie are on the outs because Da (recently widowered) has been keeping company with flossy Rosa. But meanwhile Mali herself has been uncomfortably attracted to sterling mine-owner Sterling Richardson, who plans a new mining future by switching to zinc. . . but faces some hefty problems. First of all, unbeknownst to Sterling, his real father was mine-partner James Cardigan - so brother Rickie (a rotter) is the true Richardson heir. Furthermore, Sterling (again unbeknownst) has impregnated his half-sister Bea Cardigan - who learns the truth and has a secret, near-fatal abortion. And even more disaster looms when Mali (now office-manager for a laundry) slides into Sterling's arms "like a startled faun." Her Da is critically injured with molten copper - thanks to the slimy boyfriend (errand-boy for Rickie Richardson) of Mali's chum Katie; Davie's compensation money - with which Mali had planned to buy a partnership in the laundry - is stolen by Rosa; Rickie plots against Sterling's mining ventures; lovers' misunderstandings abound. (Mali thinks Sterling was responsible for Davie's death; Sterling glowers about, believing Mali to be promiscuous.) But after a mine explosion - engineered by Rickie & Co. - the wicked (and a few of the pure) will be out of action, all secrets will be revealed. . . and Sterling and Mali meld mettles. An unseasoned serving of old chestnuts, unconvincing but serviceable. (Kirkus Reviews)
Product Description
The first novel in Iris Gower's series about the women of Swansea at the beginning of the century. It follows the fortunes of Rhian Gray, who has left Sweyn's Eye to work in a Yorkshire woollen mill. The author also wrote "Fiddler's Ferry", "Morgan's Woman" and "Black Gold".
