Beti Rhys (2 April 1907 – 5 April 2003) was a Welsh

bookseller Bookselling is the commercial trading of books, which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, book people, bookmen, or bookwomen. History The foundi ...

and author who promoted literature in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

in the 1950s and 1960s. Educated at the

Howell's School, Llandaff Howell's School () is a private day school for girls in Llandaff, a district in northern Cardiff, Wales. It consists of a nursery, infants, junior, senior school and a sixth form. The sixth form became coeducational in September 2005 and was re ...

, where a policy was enacted to bar anyone from speaking Welsh, she began her career teaching the language in schools. In 1950 Rhys began a bookshop specialising in books in Welsh and university textbooks in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. The shop was successful academically, financially and socially and attracted many notable Welsh individuals. After retiring in 1968, she travelled the world, wrote two books on the subject and a biography on Evan Rees, the Archdruid of Wales.

Biography

Beti Rhys was born on 2 April 1907 in

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which d ...

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

. She was the daughter of J.E. Rhys, a Presbyterian minister, and his wife. Rhys had one sister, Neilan. She was educated at the

, which she resented due to its policy of barring any person from speaking the

; Rhys was described by one member of staff as "dirty Welsh". The experience failed to dissuade her and she went on to read Welsh at

University College, Cardiff Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

(now Cardiff University). Rhys began her career teaching Welsh at multiple schools before settling at the Pentre Secondary School in the

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (, 'large') and t ...

. In 1950 Rhys borrowed money from friends of hers to begin a bookshop specialising in books published in the Welsh language and university textbooks at the Castle Arcade shopping building in

. During that era, books published in the Welsh language were scarce with a close following and the opening of her shop expanded their reach further south in Wales. According to Rhys' obituarist in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', the shop became "a focal point for the Welsh literati". Soon after its opening she obtained contracts to deliver textbooks to various Welsh educational institutions. Rhys had regular customers in

Idris Foster Sir Idris Llewelyn Foster (23 July 1911 – 18 June 1984) was a Welsh scholar and Jesus Professor of Celtic at the University of Oxford from 1947 until 1978. He was born in Carneddi, Bethesda, Caernarfonshire, Wales, and studied Latin and W ...

, the professor of Celtic Studies at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

, the poets

Waldo Williams Waldo Goronwy Williams (30 September 1904 – 20 May 1971) was one of the leading Welsh-language poets of the 20th century. He was also a notable Christian pacifist, anti-war campaigner, and Welsh nationalist. He is often referred to by his fir ...

and

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...

Saunders Lewis Saunders Lewis (born John Saunders Lewis; 15 October 1893 – 1 September 1985) was a Welsh politician, poet, dramatist, Medievalist, and literary critic. Born into a Welsh-speaking ministerial family in Greater Liverpool, Lewis studied in a p ...

, the co-founder of the political party

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

, the historian John Davies, the politician

Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a Welsh politician who was Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 Labour Party le ...

and his wife Glenys Parry. The shop made an academic, financial and social success, and she soon opened a second shop in Park Place, Cardiff, which her sister managed. Rhys also advised students who struggled academically. A doctor from Kuwait held a positive review of her swift service, and he persuaded his hospital in his home country to order all of its works from her store. She sold her shops in 1968, so that she could retire to

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

and travel. Rhys traveled to China via a cargo boat, the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...

to reach Russia, a bus to India, visited the Americas by the

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

, and all of Africa. She wrote two books about her travels, ''Crwydro'r Byd'' (Travelling the World), and ''I'r India a thu hwnt'' (To India and Beyond) in 1995. Rhys wrote a biography about her great-uncle, Evan Rees, the Archdruid of Wales from 1905 to 1923. She later returned to Cardiff, and went into a nursing home. She died on 5 April 2003.

Personality

Rhys was described by her obituarist in ''The Times'' as a "Champion of Welsh" and an "indomitable Welsh woman".

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhys, Beti 1907 births 2003 deaths 20th-century Welsh writers 20th-century Welsh women writers 21st-century Welsh businesspeople 21st-century Welsh women writers People from Port Talbot People educated at Howell's School, Llandaff Alumni of Cardiff University Welsh-language writers Welsh non-fiction writers Welsh travel writers British women travel writers Welsh booksellers Welsh biographers British women biographers 20th-century Welsh businesspeople