Welsh Journals

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Kate Roberts, Saunders Lewis, Caradoc Evans, Jack Jones, Alun Lewis, Vernon Watkins and Raymond Williams. Archives of artists-like Gwen John, Augustus John, David Jones and Ceri Richards-and of composers- like Joseph Parry and William Mathias-are also among the treasures of the Department. Papers, too, of scholars, like Sir John Rhys, Sir Goronwy Edwards and David Williams, are plentiful. Finally, among the personal archives are the papers of distinguished political and public figures, including T. E. Ellis, D. R. Daniel, Lord Rendel, Sir O. M. Edwards, Samuel T. Evans, E. T. John and David Lloyd George. Some are housed in 'The Welsh Political Archive' which, besides containing the personal papers of recent politicians like James Griffiths, Cledwyn Hughes, George Thomas and Gwynfor Evans, also houses political Party Records. On reading through this valuable, fascinating volume I was struck by a number of things, pleasing and not so pleasing. On the positive side, the industry, dedication and expertise of the staff of the Department over the years in collecting and cataloguing the rich records pertaining to our Welsh past clearly emerges. What worried me was the way in which some archives at the National Library have more than one home, some parts of them located at the local records offices. An archive should remain as a single corpus, but where it should be housed is an opinion this reviewer will not venture to suggest! DAVIDW. HOWElL Swansea FIRE IN the THATCH: THE TRUE NATURE OF Religious REVIVAL. By Eifion Evans. Evangelical Press ofWales, 1996. Pp.234. £ 8.50. Writing the history of religious revivals is never an easy task. Even those who went through revival and conversion had great difficulty in describing and analysing their experiences. It is even more difficult for the historian, who attempts to examine the events from an academic standpoint whilst remaining sensitive to the deeply-felt religious convictions of those con- cerned. Eifion Evans admits from the outset that he does not write from a purely academic standpoint, a fact which is surely reflected in his choice of title for this collection of essays. The title echoes the Puritan preacher Walter Cradock's description of the gospel spreading through south-east Wales 'as the fire in the thatch'. The author suggests that this phrase sums up 'the sovereign work of the Holy Ghost in revival'.