Selwyn Berryman-Morgan's Blog
March 2, 2021
Selwyn Morgan, his first book
Selwyn Morgan was born in Pontypridd, South Wales, into a coal-mining family. Pontypridd was famous for its coal production and distribution, but it is now more famous as the birthplace of Tom Jones; although Tom's singing of "The Green, Green Grass of Home" seemed a bit odd to Selwyn when having to live amongst the coal tips. Selwyn left Wales in the mid-70s to work in Kuwait and Jordan. Returning to the UK, he finally settled in Kemble and is a member of Cirencester's Somewhere Else Writers Group (somewhere-else-writers.org). The writing group's support and encouragement helped him to complete his first novel about the life and times of men and women from mining communities.
Selwyn had researched his ancestry and found his family came from Cornwall. They had been tin-miners, and it was they who accounted for his unusual middle name, "Berryman". Then, on a visit to a cemetery in Virginia City, a historic Nevada gold-mining town, Selwyn saw the graves of Cornish miners, and they inspired his debut novel, "Going Up Camborne Hill". The story spans centuries and continents, and it begins at the Camborne Christmas Fair of 1801 with the appearance of Richard Trevithick and his steam-engine, "The Puffing Devil".
A young man, Almond Rowe, takes the opportunity to ride with Trevithick so he may visit his lover at the journey's end. We follow his progress, and that of his descendants, as they travel the world. Inevitably, characters leave us, and their memory fades; except for the reoccurrence of a name. Eventually, Almond's descendants fly bomber aircraft in the skies above Germany, but not before his grandson is laid to rest in a Nevada cemetery.
Selwyn had researched his ancestry and found his family came from Cornwall. They had been tin-miners, and it was they who accounted for his unusual middle name, "Berryman". Then, on a visit to a cemetery in Virginia City, a historic Nevada gold-mining town, Selwyn saw the graves of Cornish miners, and they inspired his debut novel, "Going Up Camborne Hill". The story spans centuries and continents, and it begins at the Camborne Christmas Fair of 1801 with the appearance of Richard Trevithick and his steam-engine, "The Puffing Devil".
A young man, Almond Rowe, takes the opportunity to ride with Trevithick so he may visit his lover at the journey's end. We follow his progress, and that of his descendants, as they travel the world. Inevitably, characters leave us, and their memory fades; except for the reoccurrence of a name. Eventually, Almond's descendants fly bomber aircraft in the skies above Germany, but not before his grandson is laid to rest in a Nevada cemetery.
