Alexander Cordell

Alexander Cordell, the Novelist.
Alexander Cordell, (1914 - 1997) was the author of Rape of the Fair Country, the best-selling novel which made the iron town of Blaenafon famous across the world. Cordell particularly loved this part of Wales where he lived for many years. He brought to life the rich industrial heritage of the Rhondda Valleys, Merthyr Tydfil, and the Vale of Neath, as well as the town of Blaenavon, which is now a World Heritage Site.

Cordell took his inspiration from the people and the places of South Wales. Cordell Country will help you discover the locations and landscapes which touched him, so that you too can hear his characters, the 'voices of those lost people calling on the wind'.

Born George Alexander Graber in 1914 in Ceylon, Alexander followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Royal Engineers. In 1937 he married Rosina Wells. He was wounded during World War II and was sent to Harlech in North Wales to convalesce. On leaving the Army he began work as a quantity surveyor. It was at this time that he started writing. 'Every time Rosina needed a new coat I would sit down and write a short story', he is quoted as saying. In 1949 his daughter Georgina was born in Shrewsbury and in May 1950 his first story, 'The Gentle Wife, appeared in My Weekly.

In 1950 the family moved to The Lodge at Llanellen, near Abergavenny. His brother Frank, who was a sub editor on the Financial Times, undoubtedly offered advice as Alexander started work on his first novel, A Thought of Honour. The book was accepted in 1954 and Alexander was paid £75. Rape of the Fair Country, his best-known work was published in 1959.

Alexander Cordell
researching at
Sirhowy Ironworks

The family moved to Holywell Cresent in Abergavenny, where Alexander was to write Hosts of Rebecca in 1960. The family later lived in Hong Kong, Milford Haven, and Tidenham, Chepstow, where in 1969 Alexander finished the Welsh trilogy with Song of the Earth. The Fire People was published in 1972, the same year in which Rosina his first wife died. He married his second wife Donnie in 1973. Other books set in South Wales followed: Land of My Fathers, This Sweet & Bitter Earth, Beloved Exile and Land of Heart's Desire. Cordell moved for the last time to Wrexham. He died while out walking near Llangollen in July 1997. He had written 30 books and his most famous work, Rape of the Fair Country, had been translated into 17 different languages. He is buried at Llanfoist.