Marion Eames (born Gwladys Marion Griffith Eames, 5 February 1921 – 3 April 2007)Dictionary of Welsh Biograph
Retrieved 29 September 2018.
/ref> was a Welsh novelist writing mainly in Welsh. She was also a talented musician.

Biography

Marion was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, of Welsh parents – William Griffith Eames (1885–1959) and his wife Gwladys Mary (née Jones) (1891–1979) – but she was brought up from the age of four at

Dolgellau Dolgellau (; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the traditional county town of the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merion ...

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 ...

(Sir Feirionnydd), where she attended Dr Williams' School. A talented musician, who played the harp and the piano, she graduated from the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

in London. Marion worked as a librarian in Dolgellau, then at

Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

, before becoming a

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

producer with the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

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 ...

from 1955 to 1980. She also served for a time as a regional organizer for 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 ...

. In 1955 she married the

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

journalist Griffith Williams, with whom she moved to

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

, then back to Cardiff. Eames was an early scriptwriter for the long-running Welsh soap ''

Pobol Y Cwm ''Pobol y Cwm'' (''People of the Valley''; ) is a Welsh-language soap opera produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, ''Pobol y Cwm'' was originally transmitted on BBC Cymru (now B ...

''. Her best-known work of fiction is the historical novel ''Y Stafell Ddirgel'' (1969), which was translated into English by Margaret Phillips as '' The Secret Room'' (1975). This was later adapted as a BBC television drama series, and has been reprinted in both languages. Other works by Eames include ''I hela cnau'' (1978, in English: ''The Golden Road'', 1990). A sequel to ''Y Stafell Ddirgel'' was ''Y Rhandir Mwyn'' (The Fair Wilderness).British Librar
Retrieved 20 March 2017.
/ref> Marion Eames was awarded an honorary degree of the University of Wales. Some of her works were for children: ''Sionyn a Siarli'' (1978), ''Huw a'r Adar Aur'' (1987), and ''Y Tir Tywyll'' (1990). Her introduction to Welsh literature for English-speaking readers, ''A Private Language'', appeared in 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eames, Marion Welsh-language novelists Welsh historical novelists People associated with Aberystwyth University Welsh novelists 1921 births 2007 deaths 20th-century Welsh novelists Welsh children's writers People from Dolgellau