 First edition | |
| Author | Barry Pilton |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury |
Publication date | 2005 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 288 |
| ISBN | 0-7475-7168-6 |
| Followed by | Town with No Twin |
The Valley is the first novel by Barry Pilton, published in 2005 by Bloomsbury. It is a humorous account of the effect of outsiders on the rural status quo in a fictional mid-Wales valley during the 1980s and is being adapted for television. [1]
Those living in the insular Nant Valley believe they are immune to the changes going on in the outside world. However, outsiders have discovered the rural idyll and are moving in to enjoy its benefits. Dafydd, the ubiquitous postman, is uncertain the Valley is ready for newcomers. The mysterious Stefan buys a derelict manor house and tries to become a squire - but finds his money impresses no-one and can't even get a drink in the pub as Gwillim the landlord hates all customers. Jane and Rob, artistic but impoverished urbanites, want to live The Good Life, but their passion for alfresco nudity has tragic repercussions for the farming community. Gradually the fabric of rural life comes undone as local and outsider collide with dramatic results.
Two sequels have been written continuing the story of the characters introduced in The Valley:
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Barry Pilton is a travel writer, radio and television comedy scriptwriter and novelist. He was educated in Dulwich College and King's College London. In 1967-8 he taught English in Paris and from 1969 worked as a journalist on the Sunday Post, becoming a freelance writer in 1976. He has worked on Not the Nine O'Clock News, Shelley, Week Ending and Spitting Image. Between 1984 and 1999 he lived in Llandefailogfach near Brecon in Mid Wales and his first novel The Valley is concerned with the effect of outsiders on the rural status quo. He now lives in Bristol, and is working on a television adaptation of The Valley.
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