''Traed mewn cyffion'' ("Feet in the

stocks Stocks are feet and hand restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law de ...

") is a novel by Kate Roberts, written 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 ...

and first published in 1936.

Plot summary

The action takes place in the period between 1880 and 1914 against the background of the

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

quarries of north Wales, the region where the author was brought up. The main character, Jane Gruffydd, is a mother of six forced to overcome many hardships in order to bring up her family. An adaptation of the novel for Welsh television was directed by David Lyn.

References

1936 British novels Welsh-language novels Novels set in Gwynedd {{Wales-stub