My People

The publication in 1915 of this collection of short stories caused a literary sensation. Evans' book was highly praised throughout the rest of the world as being a work of art, while in Wales it made him an infamous author. There, the book was the subject of police action and lengthy newspaper correspondence; copies were burned. The reason was Evans' portrayal of the west Wales peasantry as almost subhuman characters, guided by the avarice and greed of a dominant non-conformist Liberal local hierarchy.