Annie Harriet Hughes (1852 – 25 April 1910) was a

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 ...

novelist, poet, and newspaper editor, who wrote and published three novels between 1905 and 1908, under the pen-name Gwyneth Vaughan.

Early life

Ann Harriet Hughes was born at

Talsarnau Talsarnau () is a village and community in the Ardudwy area of Gwynedd in Wales. Its population was 525 in 2001, and had increased to 550 at the 2011 Census. The village of Talsarnau is situated on the A496 coastal road between Maentwrog an ...

Merionethshire Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

, the daughter of a miller, and had a basic school education at

Llandecwyn Llandecwyn () is a hamlet near Penrhyndeudraeth in Gwynedd, Wales. The bulk of the population (between 40 and 50 houses) is now located around Cilfor close to the A496 road and served by Llandecwyn railway station, with a cluster of under ten ho ...

. In 1876 she married John Hughes Jones, a doctor in

Clwt-y-bont Clwt-y-bont is a village in Gwynedd, Wales, lying just to the south of Deiniolen. The two villages form one urban unit. Both were built in the early 19th century to house workers in the Dinorwig slate quarry, and both suffered when the quarry was ...

, Caernarvon; but later dropped the "Jones" part of her surname. Ann lived in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and later in

Treherbert Treherbert () is a village and community (Wales), community situated at the head of the Rhondda Fawr valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Historic counties of Wales, Historically part of Glamorgan. Treherbert is the upper mo ...

and Clwt-y-bont. Left to bring up four children on her husband's death in 1902, she moved to

Bangor, Gwynedd Bangor (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, north Wales. It is the oldest city in Wales. Historic counties of Wales, Historically part of Caernarfonshire, the community had a ...

, and took up writing as a career.

Career

Hughes completed three novels, and a left a fourth unfinished work. She also edited Welsh versions of three of the works of the Scottish evangelist Henry Drummond and wrote verse in Welsh. She edited the woman's page in the ''Welsh Weekly'' (1892), ''Yr Eryr'' (1894–95) ''Y Cymro'' (1906–07).

Death

Ann Harriet Hughes died on 25 April 1910 at

Pwllheli Pwllheli ( ; ) is a market town and community on the Llŷn Peninsula (), in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It had a population of 4,076 in 2011, which declined slightly to 3,947 in 2021; a large proportion (81%) were Welsh language, Welsh speaking. ...

, in her late fifties. She was buried in the graveyard of the

Llanfihangel-y-traethau Llanfihangel-y-traethau ("St. Michael's on the Beaches") was a parish in Ardudwy, Gwynedd, north-west Wales centred on a church of the same name in the village of Ynys. The original parish church was built in the 12th century on a tidal island. La ...

church. In 1911, her son Arthur Hughes emigrated to

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

Works

*''O Gorlannau'r Defaid'' (1905) *''Plant y Gorthrwm'' (1908) *''Cysgodau y Blynyddoedd Gynt'' (1908) *''Troad y Rhod'' (unfinished; partly published in the periodical ''Y Brython'', 1909).

References

Sources

* * 1852 births 1910 deaths 19th-century Welsh writers 19th-century Welsh women writers 20th-century Welsh novelists 20th-century Welsh women writers People from Merionethshire Welsh women novelists Welsh-language novelists Pseudonymous women writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers {{Wales-writer-stub