Eigra Lewis Roberts

Eigra Lewis Roberts
Born(1939-08-07)7 August 1939
Blaenau Ffestiniog, Merionethshire, Wales
Died5 March 2026(2026-03-05) (aged 86)
LanguageWelsh
Alma materUniversity College of North Wales
SubjectPost-War women in Wales
Notable awardsMultiple awards at the National Eisteddfod of Wales
SpouseLlew
Children3

Eigra Lewis Roberts (7 August 1939 – 5 March 2026) was a Welsh-language author, whose work included about 30 plays, short stories, children's books and novels.[1] She won several awards at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.[2]

Background

Born in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Roberts attended Ffestiniog County School, along with her fellow author John Rowlands and the poet Gwyn Thomas.[2][3] Having graduated from University College of North Wales in Bangor,[2] she taught in Holyhead and Llanrwst and lived in Dolwyddelan.[1][4] Roberts had an honorary MA from the University of Wales.[4][5]

Roberts died at the age of 86 on 5 March 2026.[6][7]

Career

Aged 20, Roberts won the open novel prize at the 1959 Caernarfon National Eisteddfod of Wales.[1][2] In the 1960s and 1970s she was known for writing about the lives and dissatisfaction of Welsh women in Post-war Britain, a topic little covered by Welsh authors at the time.[8][9][10] In the 1980s, she was the screenwriter adapting her novel Mis o Fehefin for the Welsh television programme Minafon.[2][4]

In 2006, Roberts wrote her first novel in English, the semi-autobiographical Return Ticket.[5] That year she won the Crown in the Swansea National Eisteddfod for a collection of poems about Sylvia Plath.[1][2][4] In 2013, her work Parlwr Bach was shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year award.[11]

Selected works

  • Brynhyfryd, 1959
  • Mis o Fehefin, 1980[12]
  • Return Ticket, 2006 (Gomer Press)
  • Parlwr Bach, 2013

References

  1. ^ a b c d Bissett, Daniel (18 June 2016). "Waunfawr farm sparks childhood memories for author in 3 Lle". North Wales Daily Post. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f 3 Lle: Eigra Lewis Roberts [3 Places: Eigra Lewis Roberts] (in Welsh). S4C. 19 June 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  3. ^ Stephens, Meic (17 May 2015). "John Rowlands: Author who eschewed popular taste in order to explore the human mind and his own inner life". The Independent. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d "Eigra Lewis Roberts". BBC Cymru (in Welsh). Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Return ticket, by Eigra Lewis Roberts". Wales Online. 25 March 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  6. ^ "Teyrngedau i'r llenor Eigra Lewis Roberts sydd wedi marw'n 86 oed". BBC Cymru Fyw (in Welsh). 6 March 2026. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  7. ^ Eigra Lewis Roberts
  8. ^ Sturrock, John (1997). The Oxford Guide to Contemporary World Literature. Oxford University Press. p. 434. ISBN 9780192833181. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  9. ^ Jones, John Graham (2014). The History of Wales. University of Wales Press. ISBN 9781783161706. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  10. ^ The Celts: History, Life, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. 2012. p. 796. ISBN 9781598849646. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  11. ^ "2013 Wales Book of the Year Award Shortlist". Literary Festivals. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  12. ^ British National Bibliography. Retrieved 5 June 2020.