Summary of Border Country
“Border Country” follows Matthew Price, a university lecturer in London, who returns to his native Wales, on the border with England, to visit his ill father. The novel recounts Matthew’s youth in Wales during the 1920s and 1930s, his departure to study in England, and the political convictions of his father, a railway signalman active and a trade unionist. Historical events such as the General Strike of 1926 and the Great Depression form an important backdrop to the narrative.
Reasons to read Border Country
At its heart, “Border Country” is a book about a father-son relationship, and the protagonist’s attempt to reconcile his present life as an academic in London with his working-class upbringing in rural Wales. It also deals with themes of migration, identity, and social struggle. The book is written in a clear, matter-of-fact style, with occasional use of South Wales dialect. Raymond Williams was a renowned Welsh writer, academic, and left-wing political thinker.
Setting: Wales (UK)
“Border Country” is set in the fictional village of Glynmawr, which is believed to be inspired by the Welsh village of Pandy, near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, where Raymond Williams was born and where his father worked as a railway signalman.
Original title: Border Country
Year of publication: 1960
Nr of pages: 450
